Agent Leviathan
by The King of Emerald
Summary: An inkling separated from his family at a young age is found and raised by an octoling. With his upbringing and his genetics, it already seems this inkling is doomed to be an outcast... but when the Great Zapfish goes missing, he shows the world, inkling and octarian alike, what it truly means to rock. Rated T for language.
1. Prologue: Inkling Out of Water

**Yes, yes, I know I should be updating Solor's story... but this idea would not leave me alone. Plus, Splatoon is a really fun game. So shut up.**

 **I do not own Splatoon. I do, however, own the main character.**

XxXxXxX

It wasn't often that Octolings found things on the outskirts of Octovalley. Most of the other species left well enough alone, knowing that Octarians in general, let alone the highly aggressive Octolings, were very territorial. However, they did occasionally find something useful; ink canisters, some occasional spare weapons, and others of the like. Even more rare was finding equipment in good condition, which could be refurbished to suit Octolings specifically. With their strength, they were the only ones who were able to even transform into a humanoid form, and thus, the only ones that could use the gear they found.

There had just been a terrible rainstorm that had affected the lands around Octo Valley. Two particular Octolings, Octarla and Octammie, were sent to investigate one of the regions nearby; there was a river that flowed through the valley, and while it wasn't common, sometimes valuable things ran through after rainstorms; unfortunate inklings that lost their gear or worse would have their treasures flow into the valley after a particularly bad storm.

"Ugh... I hate clean-up duty", said the red-haired Octammie. "Why did Octavio send us on one of these missions?"

"Our findings could help out our people back home", Octarla said in response. Her "hair" was much darker, and a couple of strands of kelp were tucked in, showing her ranking in the system. "Now, look out for anything out of place. If it's to be useful to us, we take it, no questions asked."

Octammie grumbled a bit. "Sure, you're all concerned about our people when 'daddy-dearest' is telling you to do it..."

Octarla, unfortunately, heard that, and immediately was upon her teammate, grabbing her by one of the tentacles, causing a loud shriek. "My ranking has nothing to do with who my family is, Octammie", she hissed at her teammate. "I got this ranking because I am one of the most powerful and nothing more. Remember this next time you think about running your mouth without thinking."

"Y-yes ma'am!" the red octoling managed to reply, wincing in pain before her tentacle was let go. "S-sorry..."

The black octoling sneered. "You're so weak..." she hissed, before getting back to looking for anything they could use. The cliff they were approaching would be the very end of their lands, and where the river flowed into their territory.

The two searched all day long, from when the sun was high in the sky until it was starting to dip beyond the cliff. They knew that time was running out; they'd have to return soon. But, before the group could leave...

"Octarla, ma'am! I found something!" Octammie called out. Immediately, the higher ranking octoling approached Octammie, looking at her expectantly. The red octoling, however, pointed down, and a small red ink stain suddenly got Octarla's attention. They immediately picked up their weapons, knowing that they didn't have red ink. Octarians only used a dark purple.

Once their weapons were raised, the two soldiers heard a loud squeak of panic, and suddenly a couple of eyes blinked open from the ink. Shortly after, a red baby squid jumped out of the ink, frantically trying to swim away, but Octammie quickly snatched it up, causing it to shriek as she pulled it into her arms.

"An Inkling?!" she cried out, holding the squirming thing tightly as it tried to get away. "What the heck is an Inkling doing here?!"

"Shut it up!" Octarla commanded. "It's making too much noise!"

"What does it look like I'm doing, tell it a story?! Shut up, you little brat!" Octammie bared her sharp teeth at the tiny red inkling in her arms. The squid let out another panicked squeak, before immediately silencing itself. It let out a loud sniffle, looking between Octarla and Octammie, before looking around. It obviously didn't know where it was, or who these people were. Suddenly seeking comfort, it wrapped it's tentacles around Octammie, letting out a slow whine.

"Ugh... how disgusting", Octarla said. "It must think your it's mommy... considering your tentacle color, I'm not entirely surprised."

Octammie, however, softened her gaze a bit. She recognized a scared baby very well, having helped her own sister's children before. She slowly put down the Octoshot she held, before beginning to reciprocate the hug, much to Octarla's surprise. "Hey, little guy", she said softly. "You're an awful far way from home... how did you get here?"

"Really?" Octarla asked. "Octammie, stop messing around and splat it."

The word made Octammie's blood freeze. "What?! I can't do that! Octarla, it's just a baby!"

"And it's still an Inkling", the elite soldier responded with a hiss. "You know the law; any inkling caught in our territory is to be eliminated, immediately!"

"It can't do any harm!" Octammie countered. "It's too young to even hate us! Look at it, Octarla; he's clinging to me for comfort, when any other inkling would try to shoot us first and ask questions never!"

"Which only makes it an easy target", Octarla said maliciously. "Now, as an order from a commanding officer, I am telling you to _splat the inkling._ "

Octammie glared defiantly at her commander. "I hate inklings as much as any other octoling, Tarla, but I refuse to kill a baby! Do it yourself!"

"Fine, I will!" The black-haired elite raised her octo-shot, pointing it right at the squid, whose back was to her. There was a click as she readied her weapon, fully intent on killing the little one... until it turned around. The first thing that she noticed were the eyes. Unlike regular octolings or even inklings, this squid's eyes were a silver hue. The pupils even had an odd shape; instead of a normal circle, they were shaped like an X. Octarla couldn't help but feel she had seen eyes like these before. Her hand began to quiver as her own eyes explored the inkling, noting another difference in his tentacles. While most inklings simply became darker at the tip of their tentacles, this one was actually black at the tips, with what looked like a couple thin streaks running back up halfway along the tentacle.

Seeing the fear in the inkling's eyes, though... instead of relishing it like she usually did, Octarla actually felt... ashamed, guilty. She suddenly felt that if she splat this baby, she'd regret it for the rest of her life.

So she lowered her weapon.

"I... I can't do it", Octarla stated reluctantly. She looked over at Octammie, whose jaw had dropped at those words.

"W-What?! W-Well, one of us has to splat it!" Tammie stated. "We can't let it live!"

"No, Octammie", Tarla said sternly. "I'm not so heartless that I'll murder an infant who got washed away from a storm!" She threw her weapon down, emphasizing her point. "What _happened_ to us?! Before that stupid Turf War, we never hated Inklings! We were well on our way of even making a treaty with them before this all happened! And now we're stuck down here, and we want to just murder a lost child who accidentally entered our lands?!"

There was a pause as the two octolings stared at the baby inkling. The child, unaware of how close it came to death, continued hugging Tammie gently, letting out a low whimper.

"It's Octavio, Tarla" Octammie said softly. "His hatred towards inklings has infected our people. But we don't have a choice but to obey... no one is willing to take us in because of how aggressive we were during the Great Turf War. It's either we follow him... or we die."

"Well..." The elite octoling removed her goggles, looking down at the red inkling. "What do we do with this bugger?"

"We can't leave him out here, that's for sure", Tammie said as she glanced around. "This place is filled with hungry creatures when the sun gets down, and he might slip into the river while exploring. Someone needs to take care of him."

"Him? You know for a fact it's a boy?" Tarla asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I studied some inkling anatomy", Tammie replied. "Trust me, this one's a boy."

"Alright then... who should take care of him?" Tarla conceded. "I don't think I can ask anyone to watch over him..."

"I definitely can't", Tammie confirmed. "Anyone who found out that we didn't splat him immediately would turn us in. And my sister and her kids will find out quickly."

Tarla groaned a bit. "Which leaves him to me... I live alone, so I can easily hide him, but I can't guarantee that I can provide for him with the pay I get..."

"You're an elite, though!" Tammie pointed out. "Don't you make a lot due to your position?"

"A lot of that money goes to repairs and equipment", Tarla told her underling. "And plus, my pay is adjusted for all that I claim as dependent. I can't claim the inkling as one of my kids!"

"Then... what are you gonna do?"

"What I can", Tarla told the red-haired inkling. She gently took the inkling out of Tammie's hands. "Don't worry, Tammie... I'll manage."

The elite octoling glanced down at the inkling, who seemed to calm down a bit, and actually looked rather sleepy. Tarla thought carefully, remembering a song she had heard floating down from the lands beyond the valley. She began humming the melody, allowing the inkling to yawn cutely before he fell asleep in her hands.

Tammie gave a small smile. "Come on... we need to head back."

XxXxXxX

"Octarla, you will explain this... _thing_ that I've found in your home."

Octarla kept her face straight as she looked at her father, but on the inside she was panicking. She was afraid this day would come; only one month since they had found the little inkling, and already she was caught. No doubt reported by a "well-meaning" soldier who saw her collecting more food than usual, or heard the noises coming from her home. And now, her father, in all of his glory, towered above her, his front tentacles forever crossed, showing off the scar he had gotten during the Great Turf War.

"That would be... Cliff", Tarla said, knowing exactly what her father was asking. If she tried to lie, he would be even harsher with his punishment. "He's an orphaned Inkling, and much too young to know that his kind is supposed to hate us. I thought that, perhaps I could-"

"You are to eliminate it immediately", the male Octarian interrupted. "I will not tolerate these slimey little hipsters encroaching on our land."

"Sir, with all due respect, he is not encroaching. I am willing to let him live with me. He has nowhere else to go", Tarla pointed out.

"And that invites more of them into our lands", the male countered. "We are running into an energy crisis as it is, Tarla; we have enough problems without unwanted squids."

"But, sir, he'll die!"

"And that will simply mean one less squid in this world!" the octarian roared. "Now, splat this menace _immediately!_ "

"Daddy, please!" Tarla finally broke, destroying the facade. She fell to her knees, closing her eyes tight. "Don't make me do this! I can raise him right! He doesn't have to die! I'll teach him to live like us! I'll do anything! Don't make me kill this baby!"

There was a moment of silence, before a small voice echoed through the room. "Ma... ma...?" The two octarians looked to the inkling in question, who had been napping on the couch. "Mama...?" Little Cliff looked at the male Octarian, staring in curiosity. Then, he turned back to Tarla and immediately jumped into her arms, looking content as he shut his eyes again.

"Last chance, Tarla", the male said, and the elite octoling looked up into the eyes of her angry father, the light shining off of his helmet. "Either you step outside and splat that inkling immediately... or you step outside and don't come back."

Those words were the ultimatum she had been hoping he wouldn't force her to choose. Telling an Octoling that they were banished from the valley was a death sentence. No one would be able to survive outside of the protective walls, were none of the others that littered the world dared to venture. And sending an Octarian outside meant that it would only be a matter of time before they were killed.

But Octarla looked at her father within a new light. He would condemn one of his own to death simply to get rid of an inkling? And not just one of his own people... but his flesh and blood. So, with her eyes furrowing in anger, she solemnly lowered her head.

"Very well... Octavio."

The phrasing shocked him enough, the leader of the Octarians wasn't prepared for a swift kick to the head, knocking him out. Octarla shifted the weight of Cliff in her arms, before glancing at a weapons rack nearby. She knew that using the octoshot would slow her down significantly; the weapon was easily recognizable if fired, and if anyone tried to stop her, she needed a stealthy defense. But more importantly, she needed to run as fast as she could, before either Octavio woke up or someone was sent to check on him. She then grabbed an old, dusty brush, looking at it with a faint memory dancing on the edges of her vision.

"Hello, old friend... I need you to help me one last time", she said to the weapon. Quickly, she brought it to the ground, feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline as she began stepping quickly outside. She hefted the brush over her shoulder, holding Cliff tightly to her body, hearing the baby let out a steady breath, indicating that he was asleep.

"Don't worry, Cliff", Octarla said softly. "Mama'll keep you safe. Just stay asleep, and dream your little dreams." She heard a cry behind her, and knew that someone had discovered Octavio. Silently, she slipped into the shadows, avoiding the patrols that no doubt were scouring for her.

The trek was long and dangerous, but after what felt like an eternity, she arrived at the edge of the tallest cliff, reaching the top of the stony structure shaped like the valley's namesake. She was tired from running nonstop, but Octarla was glad she was no longer trapped by the walls.

"So... this is where you stand", came another voice. Octarla closed her eyes, sighing.

"If anyone were to find me, I knew that 'Daddy' would send you", she stated calmly, turning to face another elite octoling, who actually had slightly longer tentacles in the back, which were tied into what looked to be a crude, curly ponytail. "Octola..."

"Is it true, Tarla?" asked the other elite, brushing some kelp aside as it waved in front of her face slightly. "Are you trying to escape with an inkling?" Octola glanced down, seeing the baby inkling asleep in Tarla's arms, and scowled. "You would defy your own father for the sake of one who managed to lose his way here?"

"He's strong, Tola", Octarla insisted. "He was swept here by a storm, a flood that should have dissolved him. I've been caring him for the last month, and I learned so much more than I thought I already knew. They're not hostile, or aggressive by nature, Tola. He has fears, he has dreams... he has so much more than I thought Inklings could have."

Octola stared at her friend, watching her expression. She glanced at the octoling's brush. "Haven't seen that in a while... do you still know how to use it?"

"I remember enough", Tarla replied. She lifted the brush off her shoulder, pointing it at her former teammate. "Stay back, Tola. I will fight you one-handed if I have to, but I am leaving this valley."

Tola watched after her friend, eying the brush, but with that mask covering her eyes, Tarla had no idea what the elite was planning. Finally, Tola lowered her weapon, standing in a relaxed pose.

"Get out of here", Tola said. "You have a kid to raise, don't you?"

That actually threw Tarla off, and she lowered her brush slowly. "You're much more loyal than I, Tola... why are you disobeying my father?"

Tola smirked, turning away. "I'm loyal alright... but I'm loyal to my friends. Besides..." She patted her own stomach lightly. "As one mother to another... every child deserves a chance."

Tarla wanted to ask so many questions. Who was the father? Was she gonna force her child to fight, like they were? What was she planning? But the priority took over, and she shouldered her brush again. "Thank you, Tola... I'll miss you." She turned away, feeling a tear running down her face. "Tell... tell T-Tammie that I'll miss her, too."

"Will do... Captain."

And so, as the sun rose on the valley, two friends left the edge, unsure if they would ever see each other again.

XxXxXxX

Tarla had intended to find a place to live on her own, away from society. She wanted to keep her existence outside of the valley a secret; she didn't want to scare the local populace. She was efficient at finding food on her own, and could provide for Cliff no problem.

The issue, however, was that Cliff had gotten sick.

After months of living in the wild, Tarla should have assumed that her inkling baby would get sick. They washed when they could, and she had to make clothes out of animal hides and other various materials she could find, but she shouldn't have kidded herself. They were not living anywhere near sanitary conditions.

They did, however, end up near a small village called Tentaton.

She had been observing the inklings for days. She had hoped that she wouldn't be forced to enter the town of inklings, but she knew that once Cliff had turned pale and was coughing a lot, she had no choice.

Fast forward to now, as she stepped into the town doctor's office, with four or so inklings staring at her in shock.

Tarla glanced around, looking at the inklings. They stared at her, their eyes wide, and their jaws dropped, showing their fanged teeth. She then turned to the receptionist, who was practically sweating bullets before she stepped forward, brush still hoisted on her shoulder as she stopped just before the desk.

"Please", she whispered, her voice hoarse from lack of use. The receptionist blinked, before spotting the red inkling cradled gently in Tarla's arms. "Save him... he's not even two years old yet..."

The receptionist looked at the child, then back at the Octoling, swallowing nervously. "W-What happened?"

"We've been living on the outskirts for a while now", Tarla responded. "I didn't want to scare you or your people... but he's sick, and I can't help him without medicine." She shook her head, closing her eyes. "Do whatever you want to me once he's better, but please... help him... I don't know what to do..."

The receptionist nodded slowly, standing up. "Come with me. The doctor will be right with you."

Tarla snorted a bit. "That's what they said in the valley, too, before making us wait twenty minutes."

"I promise, I'll get him right to you", the receptionist responded, looking at Octarla with a reassuring gaze. "Just follow me; your son doesn't look too well."

Octarla hesitated for only a moment, before she nodded, following the inkling girl to the examination room.

She was completely unaware of the new life she'd be facing in just a few short minutes.


	2. Second Chance at Life

_"Well, ma'am, it looks like your son is going to be fine."_

 _Octarla looked at the doctor with relief in her eyes. "What happened? What did he catch?"_

 _"He caught a minor stomach bug. It could have been a whole lot worse if you didn't come to us right away", the doctor said, placing the clipboard down. "He just needs to stay in bed for a while, and he'll be right as rain in no time." The older inkling, however, frowned when the octoling looked down, and it didn't take long for him to figure it out. "You don't have a home to go back to, do you?"_

 _Tarla reluctantly shook her head. "I'm an octoling outside of Octo Valley, sir. That in itself should be an impossibility, since so many other species hate us, due to our initiating the Great Turf War over a hundred years ago." She lowered her head. "I don't care what you inklings do, Doctor... but please... spare the little one I brought in. He doesn't know very much, and he needs someone to give him a chance... a family..."_

 _The doctor thought carefully, before writing down something on a pad of paper. He then removed it from the pad, handing it to her. "Here's the address of a friend of mine. He should be willing to let you stay for a while."_

 _Tarla stared at the paper, before looking back up at the doctor. "W-what?"_

 _"He works on a farm, so he'll probably ask that you help him out a bit while you're staying there", the doctor continued. "His wife will be more than happy to watch over Cliff while he recovers, but they won't keep you from him all day, so-"_

 _"What are you doing?" Octarla asked suddenly, sitting stiffly. "Is this some kind of joke? A sick prank?"_

 _"It's a place to stay", the doctor said cooly. "Just show them that note and they'll take you in, no questions asked."_

 _"Why? Why are you risking your own safety? I'm an octoling, in case you forgot! If our roles were reversed, you'd be dead already!"_

 _"Then why did you walk into an inkling town, holding your brush in a defensive manner, while carrying a sick inkling in your arms when you could have just splatted him and been done with it?" When Tarla didn't have a response to that, the doctor smirked. "Tentaton is not a typical town, miss. If we have reason to think you're not going to hurt us... we're willing to give you a chance. Of course, I have to go to the mayor and let him know what happened today; he'll want to judge you himself, but to me... anyone who's willing to risk their lives to save a child is okay in my book."_

XxXxXxX

"Ma... Ma..."

"Urgh..."

"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Ursula's eyes blinked open, as she looked over to see the red inkling responsible for the noise. The squid blinked plainly, his silver eyes peering into her own purple ones.

"I'm hungry", the five year old said simply, as if that was all the explanation he needed to give.

Ursula groaned a bit, before rolling over back under her covers. "Nope. Going back to sleep."

"Not fair, the sun's already up!" Cliff said, climbing onto the bed. "You have to wake up!"

"Nope... don't have to work today, not getting up."

"Ma, come on! Uncle Cecil is coming later today, remember?"

"Yeah, but that's not until 10."

"It's 9!"

Ursula groaned again, before suddenly lashing out with her arm and grabbing the unsuspecting inkling with her hand. The child let out a yelp before beginning to giggle wildly, feeling her fingers tickling his sides. "Well, that's what happens when someone refuses to go to bed on time!" Ursula teased with a wicked grin.

"N-no, stop! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Cliff managed to squeak out in his laughter, before Ursula stopped, kissing the top of his head and carrying him out of bed.

"It's okay, little sucker, I forgive you", Ursula stated, brushing away one of her bangs once she placed Cliff back on the ground. "Now, go get ready. I'll have breakfast ready in a blink."

"Okay, Ma", Cliff said, stepping out of the room as his little feet made a ruckus down the hall. Ursula shook her head, moving her bangs out of her eyes before she caught a sight of herself in the mirror.

"Oof... Octarla, you need to start getting back into shape", she said softly to herself. She new that using her old name was a bad idea, hence the new moniker of Ursula, but when she was alone, she often slipped up a bit when she spoke to herself. She had lost the toned muscles she used commonly during her training sessions; her stomach was now a bit chubbier, and her hips a bit more pronounced. "I really should start running again..."

After changing into a decent shirt, some sweatpants, and some sneakers, the octoling walked into the kitchen, preparing a bowl of cereal for Cliff. She then walked outside, looking about for her newspaper. Her home was a little secluded, as she did enjoy her privacy, but she could still see Tentaton easily, as she was only about a mile away. Once she had the news in hand, she headed back inside, seeing Cliff had already spotted his breakfast and was chowing down, munching happily.

"So, Aunt Lydia is gonna be watching over you today, along with some of the other kids at school. Promise to behave?" Ursula asked.

The red inkling paused in his eating, looking up at her with his silver eyes. His gaze lowered a bit, avoiding contact. "Um... do I have to play with them? They're... not very nice..."

That immediately brought a frown to Ursula's face, and she approached her son. "What do you mean, squiddo? How are they not nice?"

"Well", he said softly, now stirring his bowl of cereal instead of eating it, "they make fun of me... because I'm red. They say my eyes are weird, and they don't like me because of them."

That did not sit well with Ursula at all, and for a minute, she seemed to get really angry, her face twisting into a vicious snarl. However, she quickly relaxed her expression, not wanting to frighten the child, and sighed as she pet the top of his head. "Honey... sometimes squids aren't gonna be nice. They'll make fun of you for small things, like being red, or your silver eyes... but you gotta work on trying to get them to see past it. Show them that you're good at the games they play. I'm sure they're just as afraid to see you as you are of them." She gently moved his head, making him look at her. "Will you promise to try, my little leviathan?"

Cliff sighed a bit, nodding. "I'll try, Ma." He finished up his cereal, getting off of his chair. "Imma go play outside."

"Okay, squiddo", Ursula said with a gentle smile. "Be good, and come to me if you feel scared." Once the red inkling went outside, Ursula frowned once more. She knew that he would have problems with the other inklings, due to her being an octoling, but she never imagined that his color or his eyes would be that much of an issue. She would definitely need to talk to Cecil about this; there were many things she learned about Inklings when she started living with them, but there was still so much she was left in the dark about.

In only a little while, the Inkling in question arrived, along with his wife, Lydia. Cecil was a large, muscle bound man, with an impressive green beard. His orange eyes, when angered, could pierce into your very soul, but mostly showed a warmth and kindness you wouldn't expect from such a giant. His wife, by comparison, was tiny, even though she was only of average height for an adult inkling. Lydia had a yellow color, with a pair of purple eyes. She had a smaller frame, and it was obvious she did not work like her husband did, but she still had a kind look on her face. Her tentacles had been tied into a bun, while Cecil wore a cap, hiding his own.

"Morning, Ursie!" called out Cecil, as the octoling opened the door, and allowed them in. Lydia walked past her towards the back, a few young inklings of varying color in tow. She nodded silently to Ursula, being a soft-spoken woman, while the younger ones immediately ran past, not daring to look the woman in the eye. They were scared of Ursula, but not because of her heritage... because she was simply scary when she was angry.

"Lydia", Ursula said to the woman, nodding gently. She then turned to Cecil. "So, we're planning out the addition on the kelp farm, right?"

"You got it. Figured I'd get a helping hand from one of my best coworkers", Cecil said, smiling broadly. However, that quickly faded when he noticed Ursula didn't have a similar smile. "What's the matter? Something bugging you?"

"Cecil... is my son... different?" she asked. "I mean... I haven't seen another inkling with a red color or silver eyes..."

Cecil let out a soft sigh. He placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her into the kitchen so they could sit and talk. "Ursula... Cliff is definitely unique. I've never seen coloring or eyes on an inkling like that before. The closest possibility could be that his parents are from Calamari County."

"'Calamari County'... that sounds familiar", Octarla said with a look of deep thought. She closed her eyes, folding her hands together. "Is there anything about those inklings that I should look out for in Cliff? Unique abilities, other traits that may pop up?"

Cecil shook his head. "Other than being taller, there shouldn't be anything. Calamari County squids are definitely flashy, but they aren't mutants, if that's what you're implying."

Ursula, however, wasn't convinced. "Cecil... He survived a flood. A _flood_ , for ink's sake! How did a squid, who wasn't old enough to talk, do that?"

That stumped the green inkling, who folded his arms. "Well, you got me there... It may have been a fluke, pure dumb luck... but I won't deny that it's a miracle he lasted through that."

"Exactly", Ursula insisted. "I need you, Lydia, and anyone else who sees him doing something... different, to let me know right away."

"Aren't you being a little paranoid?" Cecil asked. "The only thing I see about Cliff being different are his physical features, but every inkling has stuff like that."

"Cecil, I'm an octarian outside of Octo Valley", Ursula pointed out crossing her arms. "If word gets out that I'm here, in Tentaton, other Octolings might come looking for me... and they won't be as nice as I was."

"You were nice?" Cecil joked, smirking. "Ursie, even nowadays, you are cold to anyone that you don't know. The only one of us that you've shown unconditional kindness to is your son."

Ursula shot Cecil a glare, and would have retorted as well, when suddenly there was a loud commotion outside. The two immediately ran outside, and spotted Lydia holding Cliff in her arms, holding him back as he screamed and thrashed, trying to shake free. One of the other kids was on the ground, a few dark bruises on his face and arms, sobbing like crazy.

"TAKE IT BACK!" Cliff roared, trying desperately to get to the pink boy. "TAKE IT BACK!"

"Cliff!" Ursula yelled loudly, trying to get her son's attention, but the red inkling was too angry to notice. She rushed forward, pulling him from Lydia and away from the pink squid. "Cliff!"

"I HATE YOU!" Cliff yelled out. "I HATE YOUR DUMB FACE!"

The pink boy finally managed to control his crying, and shot Cliff an angry glare. "KEEP THAT FREAK AWAY FROM ME!" he called out. "HIM AND HIS FREAK MOM!"

Those words almost sent Ursula into a rage, but she had to focus on Cliff, who's struggling became even more fierce. He even managed to hit her arms a few times, trying to break free. "MOM'S NOT A FREAK! TAKE IT BACK!"

"ENOUGH!" Ursula screamed out, getting everyone's attention. She glared at the pink inkling, immediately silencing any protest he was about to make. She then shot her son an angry look as well, and he finally seemed to realize where he was, as he looked at his mother with fearful eyes. "Cliff... you're going to your room for the rest of your day." She then turned to Lydia, still angry. "And you better get these squids out of here before I get _really_ mad."

Lydia nodded, and immediately gathered the other inklings. "Let's go", she said softly to the children. She knew better than to mess with Ursula when she was mad; it never ended well for whoever incurred her wrath. Cecil, in the meantime, immediately stepped out of the octoling's way as she headed inside, Cliff in tow.

"So... should I come back tomorrow?" he asked, only to receive a truly horrifying glare as a response. "Yeah... I-I'll be b-b-back tomorrow... see ya!" He took off rather quickly, knowing that now was a terrible time to talk business.

Ursula watched them leave, then continued up the stairs to her home, taking Cliff to his room, filled with all kinds of toys that any five-year-old would enjoy. He was placed on his bed, as the Octarian paced a tiny bit, trying to calm down.

"Cliff... what did I ask from you today?" she asked in a calm, cold voice.

"T-To... b-behave..." Cliff said in a shaky voice.

"So... tell me why you did the opposite and attacked that pink squid", Ursula ordered. In times of anger, her old training would come back, and she wasn't quite as patient as she usually was. " _Now_ , if you don't mind."

"W-well... he said... a-a lot of m-m-mean th-things..." Cliff stuttered, tears forming in his eyes. "H-He c-called me a f-f-freak... b-b-but th-that's n-not why I h-hit him..."

That surprised Ursula. Normally, Cliff didn't like names like that, and would try to dissuade anyone from using them. "Then why did you hit him?" she asked again. "Tell me the truth."

"... H-he c-called you... a m-m-monster..."

Her heart broke as she heard the defeated words come from her son's mouth, and her anger was gone in an instant, replaced by a deep sorrow for her child. Slowly, she pulled her son close, hugging him. "Oh, Cliff... you don't have to fight to protect me... I'm big and strong. It's my job to protect you."

Cliff sobbed a bit, pulling closer to her. After a moment, he softly spoke up one more time. "Ma... are you... an inkling...?"

Ursula had expected this question... but not for a few more years at least. However, she had made a vow to be honest to him if he ever asked. "No, Cliff... I'm not an inkling. I'm an octoling."

"What's an... octoling?" Cliff asked her looking up at her.

"An octoling is a powerful octarian, Cliff", Ursula told him. "I can looke like this, like Inklings, but my other form is an octopus. It's obvious what I am because of my hair", she said, motioning to her now red bangs that curled in front of her face. "I found you when you were little, Cliff. I didn't know if I could find your parents, since no Inkling has ever lived in Octo Valley, where I'm from."

"Why not?" Cliff asked, his sadness fading. "Why didn't any inklings live there?"

"That was octarian turf, sweetie", Ursula said. "Inklings and octarians... they don't get along."

"That's dumb", Cliff said with a frown. "Why can't they share turf? You get along with inklings fine."

"Because I have you", she continued. "If you didn't come along... I'd still be in Octo Valley... doing terrible things. I'm glad I got out when I did." She sighed, pulling away from him. "Well... that's who I am... what I am. If you don't want to call me your mom anymore, I understand..."

"Why would I want to do that?" Cliff asked immediately, looking at her like she just made a weird joke he wouldn't understand. He hugged her tightly. "You may not be my mom... but you're still Ma to me."

Ursula smiled at that, pulling the inkling child closer. "That... means a lot more than you'll ever know, Cliff. I love you."

"I love you too, Ma."

X 3 X Years X Later X

The eight year old squid had definitely grown into a newer personality as time went on. Despite his best attempts, the inklings in his town never really got along with him, due to how different he was. He was quieter, and didn't talk much. He also seemed to run faster than average, but not by much. He was still the fastest in school, though, and one of his teachers praised his speed, saying, "If you go into Turf Wars, you'll be dangerous with a roller!"

Ursula still worked with Cecil on his clam farm, working every day to take care of the animals. Clam were a food to most inklings, but some enjoyed having them as pets, which confused the Octoling, but she never questioned it. Thanks to her hard work, she was now more muscular than she was when she had to keep an almost constant eye on her son, and that definitely made her happy. However, she never sought out a husband; Cecil was more like a father to Cliff than anyone else, and he was already married to Lydia.

She was actually on a break with them, talking about Cliff at home, since they asked. "Well... he's taken quite an interest in music lately", she told them. "He doesn't know it, but I'm getting him a guitar for Squidmas. I can't wait to see his face when he opens it up."

Cecil gave a smirk. "It's nice to know that he's showing interest in something. I was worried he wouldn't know what he wanted to do later in life."

"But that'll be a hard path", Lydia said. She was definitely more talkative with Ursula around, but she was still soft-spoken. "Lot's of inklings have gone into the business, only to come out worse for wear."

"Cliff is strong", Ursula said, "and if he wants to be a musician, I'll support him. But... if you're right that it's hard to get started, maybe I should think about teaching him to battle in Turf Wars... it seems similar to Octarian Training, from what I understand."

"Might be a good idea", Cecil said. "I can teach him how to use a blaster, if you want me to help out."

"I'm good with a charger", Lydia stated. "Helps out when I have to tranquilize an ornery clam."

"Thanks, both of you", Ursula said, putting her hands up, "but... from what I can tell, I think Cliff will like using a brush. I'll see how he does with that first as soon as he gets home."

"You're sure about that?" Cecil inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Those are pretty advanced rollers. Not as heavy, but doesn't cover as much turf."

"Trust me, I know my way around a brush", Ursula stated, smirking. "And I know Cliff has the makings of being one of the best. If he hates it, I'll get him a Splattershot Jr. and hope he does find a weapon he really likes someday."

"If you're sure", Cecil responded, shrugging. "But wait... I thought standard issue for Octarians was just a simple Octoshot. Why do you have skills with a brush?"

Ursula sighed, thinking back. "Well, back in Octo Valley, there were a few inklings that snuck in every now and then to mess with us, members of a group called the…" Her brow furrowed, as she struggled to remember. "'Squidbeak Splatoon', I think. One of the members used a brush very often, and while I was able to fend off some of the others, the one agent was very troublesome because he could literally zip and dodge around my bullets. Eventually, I became so frustrated that I taught myself how to use a brush to counter his speed." She chuckled a bit. "We came close to splatting each other a few times, but… I think we had some sort of mutual respect. He was the only one that gave me a challenge."

Lydia smirked a bit. "It sounds like someone had a crush."

Ursula sputtered indignantly, while Cecil started laughing his butt off. "I take offense to that, Yellow!" she hissed. "An Inkling and an Octoling? Not gonna happen!"

Cecil chuckled more at his friend's embarrassment. "Calm down, Ursie, she's only playing with you."

Ursula sighed, glaring at her friends. "Sometimes, I hate both of you…"

Later that day, Cliff came home to see a note the kitchen door. "Come out to the backyard immediately", it said, and not one to ignore his mom's directions, Cliff obediently headed outside. As soon as he was in the backyard, he jumped as a strange object was suddenly thrown into his hands, stumbling a bit before catching his balance. He then looked up, seeing Ursula with her brush - something he had never seen her pick up - and giving him a vicious smirk. "Ready for some training?" she asked.

The red inkling blinked, before looking at the object in his hands. It was an Octobrush, similar to what his mother held, except it was a smaller size, fit for an eight-year-old to wield. He stared at the weapon, before blinking and looking back up at her. "What?" he asked, clearly confused.

"In six years", Ursula began, her voice sounding very serious as she spoke to him, "you'll be old enough to move to Inkopolis. In order to make a healthy income, you need to be able to participate in Turf Wars. All newbies start with a Splattershot Jr. You, on the other hand, will be starting with a brush."

Cliff stared at his mother. "You... you're serious about this? Don't I have to go through the basics first?"

"Basics are for basic squiddos, Cliff", Ursula said. "And you and I are anything but. Now... I'm going to teach you everything you're gonna need to know. And if you don't do well enough... no dessert with dinner."

The moment the threat was made, Cliff swallowed nervously. That was usually only a punishment when she was serious about this, and if there was one thing he loved after dinner, it was a bowl of chocolate pudding. So, reluctantly, he took a hold of the brush with both hands, lowering it to the ground so the bristles touched the ground. He shot his mother a look of pure determination. "Then... I guess I better not mess up, huh?" he asked, staring at the Octarian.

Ursula's only response was a vicious grin, before she charged, and the lesson began.

X 2 X Years X Later X

"Faster, squiddo, we only got two more miles to go!"

Cliff only nodded as he pumped his arms and hit the ground faster. He had been training with his mom every day, slowly increasing his distance. During the summer, especially, was when he could really let loose. Thanks to his exercises, now, he could run just as fast as a squid could swim... or even faster, if he kept it up.

Of course, Ursula was never easy on him. She pushed him to his limit and then some, every day. Training was just as important to her as it was to him, though, so eventually, she started doing his exercises with him, pushing him to work harder and move faster than he did yesterday.

So that brings us to now, where the two are racing in the fields out by Cecil's place. Lydia and her husband were watching with interest, observing the two oddballs as they finished their run, with Cliff actually struggling to stop a bit before he managed to keep himself from running into the railing on the stairs. He panted a bit heavily, supporting himself, before standing up straight, sighing. "Time?" he asked.

"Seventeen minutes", Cecil clocked, smirking. "New record for your five-mile run."

Ursula panted slightly as she walked over to her ten-year-old son, patting his head. "Nothing but the best from my little leviathan. You're good to go play on your guitar, if you want."

"Thanks, Ma", Cliff said, grabbing a tall glass of iced sea tea and heading inside. Cecil, meanwhile, poured Ursula a glass as well, handing it over.

"You two sure have been pushing it hard", he commented. "Even lately, you've been going at it almost as fierce as a real battle."

"Nah, we've been gradually pushing more", Ursula stated. "Cliff's the one who wants to go hard or go home. It's actually getting difficult keeping up with him; these old limbs don't move like they used to." She groaned a bit, stretching her arms. "Someday, he might even be able to beat me…"

"It'll be a proud day for both of you", Lydia mused. "Though might I recommend celebrating with something other than sea tea?"

Ursula pursed her lips as she continued drinking from her glass. The beverage was an interesting concoction of various herbs and a dash of saltwater. Back in Octo Valley, it was a popular drink, but only a select few Inklings actually enjoyed it.

After conversing with the farmers for a while, Ursula went looking for her son, listening for the tell-tale guitar. She soon came to their spare bedroom, where Cliff often practiced, and heard a rather fast song being played. "Probably that Krakenforce song he plays all the time", she mused, turning to leave, when there was a sudden clang and a muttered curse from her son. The drums and vocals kept going, but the guitar had completely stopped, piquing her interest. Slowly, the Octarian opened the door, seeing Cliff fiddling with his Squid Phone (that she had saved a lot of money to afford). "Was that you?" she asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah", Cliff responded, playing the guitar-less song again. "I've been trying for a couple months now to play the whole of 'Through the Storm and the Rain', but I keep screwing up around the last chorus."

Ursula stared for a moment, blinking. "Cliff, that's a seven-and-a-half minute long song, with a guitar playing through the whole thing. I've heard those solos. You can play that from beginning to end?"

Cliff shrugged. "Almost. My fingers keep getting stiff close to the end now, but I'm working on it."

Ursula's jaw dropped. "Cliff Ulu, it takes other Inklings a decade to get that good! You managed to do that in _two_?! That's _incredible_!"

The red inklings cheeks flushed (which, in his current form, meant his cheeks turned black) as he scratched the back of his head. "I never saw it as that... I just like playing and writing music..,"

Ursula put a hand on his shoulder, making him look at her. "You listen here, Cliff. You have a gift that I have never seen in a musician. I want you to tell me, and be honest about this... would you rather be a fighter or an artist?"

Cliff was silent for a moment. "Before I started training... I would have said artist. Bit now..." He gave his mom a big grin. "Now, I don't think it matters whether or not I make it as an artist. As long as I have fun as either a guitarist or a Ranked Battler, I think I'll be okay."

Ursula gave him a loving smile, and kissed his forehead. "If you ever need help, just let me know. I'm always there for you, my little leviathan."

X 4 X Years X Later X

Ursula ran down the stairs of her small house, turning to Cecil and Lydia with an excited grin on her face. "He's coming!" she whispered harshly, prompting the inklings to hide with her behind the counter.

Today was Cliff's 14th birthday... Or what she guessed was his 14th. Originally, she celebrated it on the day that she found him, but a week ago, he woke up looking more like a mature Inkling. When she asked Lydia about it, the usually quiet woman let out a squee, and told the octarian to get ready for his first controlled transformation. They then prepared a quick, small birthday party for him, since Cliff wouldn't want her to blow it out of proportion.

Soon the stairs began creaking, and once the tell-tale thud of the bottom step sounded, all three adults jumped up, shouting out "SURPRISE!" and getting a startled yelp before Cecil and Lydia ran over, gushing over the teen and his new form.

"Look at you!" Cecil exclaimed, clapping his hand on Cliff's shoulder. "Tall frame, athletic arms... Look at that chin, those eyes! You'll be the top Rank Battler in no time!"

"He'll be chasing girls off with a stick", Lydia commented, pinching his cheek lightly. "Right, Ursie?" There was only silence at that statement. "Ursula?"

The three inklings turned to the Octarian, who had not moved from her spot since she had jumped up. She stared at Cliff, her eyes wide, and her mouth having dropped into a surprised "o" shape. She looked him up and down, slowly approaching him as she took him in, her mouth twisting into a frown.

Cliff certainly would stand out in a crowd. He was a bit taller than average inklings, about half a foot, if he was measured. His skin was a creamy-peach color, and his eyes, of course, were still a prominent silver. His red tentacles were also longer than average, and what looked to be a set of sweeping bangs covered his forehead. His muscles were well defined despite his lithe frame, and his shoulders were more squared, giving him a slim but manly look. "Ma?" He asked, looking at her. "Is something wrong?"

Ursula blinked, suddenly realizing where she was and what was going on. She slowly unclenched her fists, wondering when she had tightened them at all. A somber smile soon grew on her face, as she reached up, gently placing the palm of her hand on her confused son's cheek. "I'm sorry... But you just..." She gave a sigh, tears filling her eyes. "My baby is growing up."

Cliff gave his mom a gentle smile, and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll always be your little leviathan, Ma."

"I know, I know..." Ursula gave a reluctant sigh, holding him for a moment longer. "Well... let's get your presents, and then we can have that cake." She immediately moved away, reaching under the counter and pulling out a long, wide object wrapped in a purple paper and tied with a red ribbon. "Here... this is from me."

Cliff immediately took it out of her hands, ripping the paper off. He was expecting a new Octobrush, one better suited for his taller form. He wasn't, however, expecting to also see an electric guitar bag tied to it. He stared at both, his eyes shimmering in awe. "These are... mine?"

"Yep", Ursula said. "You said you were planning on moving out, and I figured... you might want a new weapon for your battling debut. And a newer guitar is definitely in order, since your old one has been wearing out."

Cliff immediately pulled his mom into a hug, a big grin on his face. "Thanks, Ma! I love it!" He looked her in the eye, smirking. "I promise I'll send some money back to help out."

"Don't you dare", she said to him, gently tapping his forehead with her fingers and making him recoil a bit. "These are presents. I'm not taking payment for them."

"Speaking of which, here's ours", Cecil stated, holding up a big, jingling sack. Both Ursula and Cliff stared at the bag, hearing the telltale sound of coins hitting each other inside the sack. "Lydia and I have been saving up to help you out."

"There should be more than enough to pay for rent for half a year in Flounder Heights", Lydia stated to Cliff. "As long as you're serious about making rent, this should be a good cushion to fall back on."

"Guys, I told you I would handle this!" Ursula said, glaring.

"After buying him a brush and a guitar? Yeah right", Cecil countered. "He's as much our kid as he is yours. We don't have squids of our own, so let us spoil him a little bit, won't you?"

The octarian sighed as Cliff reluctantly accepted the cash. "Uncle Cecil... Aunt Lydia... I don't know what to say."

"Just say 'thank you', then", Lydia told him, giving him a tight hug. "And make sure to send us pics of the girl you fall in love with."

"NO!" Ursula immediately shouted, her face turning red. "No girls in your apartment, buster!"

"Ma, I'm going to be on my own! I can make my own decisions!"

"Then I'm taking that guitar back!"

"It's my present!"

Cecil and Lydia both gave a smirk as the two bickered lightly. They were going to miss having Cliff around, but it was nice to see him growing up.

Inkopolis was just on the horizon for this brand new star.


	3. Inkopolis

**I'm glad you guys are liking the story so far; it is hard to write, but I am determined to get this all out. Enjoy!**

XxXxXxX

 _Never show mercy to your enemy._

Cliff let his mother's words echo through his head as he hid in the ink. His eyes were closed as he calmed his nerves. The thrill of Turf Wars always hit him hard when he got into a tight spot, but if he calmed down, he was a master on the battle field.

Today, at this time, he was in Urchin Underpass. Cliff was making his way into enemy territory, watching his own back carefully. The opposing team was rather malicious; they had a charger easily picking off his teammates whenever they tried to make an advance, and two rollers to cover as much area as possible. The last enemy was using a Aerospray, and obviously was calling the shots. So far, they were able to push his team much further back than he liked, almost completely entering his team's turf.

That was when he decided to take matters in his own hands.

While the enemy was distracted, he managed to slip by them, using his octobrush to run by and jump into their own turf, where none of them were focusing on him. He began covering as much as possible with his green ink (the enemy's color was pink today), and in no time at all, felt the rush from his special activating. His tentacles were glowing green and flowing behind him, and he knew that he was ready to release the Kraken, but he needed to bide his time. He would only use it if he was in trouble.

Finding the fence that led into the enemy's base, he easily hopped through in squid form before continuing his assault. He was almost done covering up their base when he heard the tell-tale footprints of a roller, and knew someone was coming to take him out. Thinking back to his training, he dove back into his ink, waiting for the perfect moment, until he heard the flick of the enemy's roller, and a splash as a pink squid jumped through the fence.

It was the girl with the Dynamo, probably the most dangerous of them besides the charger. If she was able to get off a single flick, he'd be splatted instantly.

"How the heck did this scrub get so far back here?" she pondered, starting to heft up her roller. "Wonder which one did it… the blaster or the splatling…"

Once her roller had shot back down to the ground, Cliff struck. He jumped out immediately, his brush in hand as he started swinging it forward. "Try a brush!" he yelled out, hitting her hard with the ink. In only a couple strokes, the girl let out a slight scream before her body burst into green ink, indicating a splat. Cliff then worked on his instinct, knowing that the other team members would either come back here to aid her, or be too focused on their assault to notice, and he needed to move fast. He ran as quickly as he could, towards his base, and soon saw the other roller and the Aerospray still assaulting his base. The roller spotted him first, and attempted to flick ink at him, but thanks to his speed, Cliff was able to outmaneuver the clunky Krak-On Roller and splatted the boy before he could use his special. He then focused his attention on the Aerospray, moving behind him and hitting him hard with the brush, splatting him as well. The girl with the charger then seemed to notice him, and moved her sight so that she could take him out now.

However, the enemy charger forgot that his team had a charger, too.

Once they were all splatted, the counter-attack went by flawlessly. His team continued to spread ink, covering as much of the pink as they could with their green, while Cliff continued to harass the enemy. He would dart in and out of their reclaimed base, constantly daring them to try and chase him, only to soon turn around and splat them in no time at all.

At one point, though, the enemy surrounded him, and he knew he had nowhere to run.

"We got you now, you slimy hipster!" said the Aerospray. "Get him!"

Unfortunately for them, Cliff decided now was a good time to use the Kraken. Needless to say… his team was victorious.

When Judd gave the judgement, his team seemed shocked that they had covered about 75% of the map in the last minute of the match. They whooped and cheered and hugged each other, and Cliff watched them with mild interest, adjusting his shades to make sure his eyes were still covered. He then received his payment for winning, gave a small thank you to the round, fluffy cat, and proceeded to leave without another word. Thanks to his previous victories, he still had plenty of cash for the month, and more than enough to cover rent and food expenses. He didn't need to stay for another match.

"Hey, brush!" came a male voice, and he turned to see the boy with the splatling run over. Cliff mentally sighed, but forced a small smile onto his face. "Bro, you were on fire! How did you get that good? You're not a rank battler in disguise, are you?"

Cliff shook his head, chuckling a bit. "Nah, dude. I'm not qualified for those yet."

"Not qualified?! You took out that entire team by yourself! If it weren't for you, we would have lost!" the splatling boy said excitedly. "You were all like, 'Nah, guys, I got this one!'"

 _And it looks like I have another fan… wonder if he's gonna be a temporary one, too,_ Cliff thought, looking at the boy curiously. "Well, thanks, bro. But I gotta head home; I got stuff I need to do."

"Yeah, no prob, bro!" the boy said. He pulled out a piece of paper. "How about you tell me your number, and we can meet up for some training? I'd love to learn how you did all of that!"

That threw a surprise toward the red inkling. No one had ever asked for his number, in the few months that he had been here. He gave a soft smile, a genuine one this time, and nodded. "Sure…" He started to pull out his phone so that he could read it to the boy, when someone else shoved the roller boy out of the way. It was the Aerospray from the opposite team, his green eyes glaring through Cliff's shades.

"Hey!" he growled, glaring at Cliff. "What was the big idea of playing the hero, huh?"

Cliff cocked an eyebrow. "Playing the hero? You practically cornered my team into our spawn point. I was just lucky enough to sneak past you and mess it up a bit."

"So you admit it!" the boy accused, pointing at him. "You admit to cheating!"

"What?!" Cliff sputtered, clearly taking offense to that. "How could that be seen as cheating?! I just got past you, and my distraction won my team the game!"

"Well, you have to be!" the boy said with a glare. "No one is that good with a brush in Turf Wars! Now, you give me that cash you won, or I report you to the authorities!" Without waiting for Cliff to actually hand over the cash, the boy reached for the bag, attempting to take it himself.

That, however, was a bad move.

Cliff responded in kind, dropping his brush off of his shoulder and jabbing the boy in the throat. It wasn't a vicious jab, just enough to surprise the boy and force him to recoil a bit. Then, he struck again, this time in the chest and stomach, causing the boy to bend over in pain. Then, as a finishing move, Cliff flipped him onto his back, placing his foot on the boy's chest as he glared down at the Aerospray user, his glasses shifting a bit on his nose. The green-eyed inkling stared up at Cliff, able to see his eyes now.

"I was taught never to show mercy to my enemy", Cliff hissed. "Care to try that again?"

Then he realized his glasses had shifted, and hastily pushed them back into place before taking his foot off the boy's chest. He then glanced back to the one who had asked for his number. Now, instead of awe and admiration, the boy had a look of shock and fear, his hands having fallen to his sides. Cliff sighed, retrieving his brush and cash before turning away. "See you around", he said softly before walking off.

This tended to be how others would treat him. Whenever someone initially wanted to be his friend, something would happen that would change their minds. Whether it was an insult from a sore loser, someone accidentally bumping his shades and revealing his eyes, or something of the like, they'd get a glimpse of his anger problems. Thanks to his past of dealing with Inklings his age, he wasn't very willing to forgive others for insults or wrongdoings. This, in turn, has made it hard for him to make friends, but that was fine to him.

He didn't need friends.

As he headed to his apartment, he pulled out his squidphone. He knew he needed to call his mom; he hadn't contacted her since his first day a couple months ago. The red inkling had just been so busy since the last time they had spoken, and she was probably worried about him. He waited until he was inside, so as to not disturb any of his neighbors by accident. He lived in a studio apartment; it wasn't in the best condition, but it provided him a place to live, and it was pretty cheap, so it was fine by him. He opened up his phone, seeing the three contacts he usually saw, and clicked on his mom's name. After only one ring, he heard his mother immediately pick up the phone and answer. "Cliff?" she asked, and he could practically hear the smile in her voice. He couldn't help but give a smile as well.

"Hey, Ma", he said in kind.

"It's been too long! You need to call me more often!" Ursula chastised. "I was getting worried about you!"

"I'm fine, and I'm sorry", Cliff responded, sighing. "Life got a little hectic over here. It's nothing like Tentaton, I can tell you that much."

"Well, that's good to hear", his mother reluctantly admitted. "I was hoping you'd do alright in the big city... how's life treating you?"

"It's pretty good", he said. "I've been working on Turf Wars quite a bit... just a few more victories and I can start Rank Battles."

"That's great, squiddo!" Ursula stated, ecstatic for his progress. "Uncle Cecil and Aunt Lydia are here, too. Do you want me to put you on speaker?"

"Yeah, sure. I miss them, too", Cliff said with a soft smile.

It only took a moment for her to figure out how to do that, and in an instant, he heard Cecil's thundering voice. "Hey, Cliff! Hope you're not letting the city get to you!"

"How would it do that?" the red inkling said with a smirk. "It's loud, annoying, and smells terrible. And I've only been here for three months, now."

"Doesn't mean things can't change so quickly!" Cecil commented with a deep laugh.

"Have you found a nice girl yet?" came Lydia's soft voice, and Cliff could have sworn he heard his mom coughing in the background.

"No, and I'm not looking for one", the inkling denied. "I'm working on saving up money; I don't have time to look for a girl."

"That's too bad", Lydia said softly, an image of the yellow-tentacled woman pouting popping up in Cliff's mind.

"No it's not!" Ursula suddenly shouted. "Cliff, you're still only fourteen! You don't need a girlfriend!"

"Just for that, I'm gonna find the cutest girl and ask her out", Cliff said with an evil grin.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" the octarian screeched, causing him to laugh hard.

Once they all calmed down, Ursula finally asked a new question. "So, did you find a band to join?"

At that, Cliff's face soured. "Yeah, I did."

"That's great!" Cecil exclaimed. "Glad to see you are still working on your music! When's the first concert?"

"... probably never", Cliff reluctantly admitted. "I joined them because they said they desperately need a guitarist, and I really wanted to play with other people, but... they stink."

"How badly?" Lydia asked bluntly.

"They showboat constantly, doing what they think are cool tricks with their instruments, but they don't have a single original song and they don't even practice between band meetings. The drummer doesn't take the lead and set the beat, the bassist isn't steady at all, and our lead singer is a douchebag who is constantly damaging his own voice to try and sound cool, and I'm sick of all of them."

"Well... that's really bad", Cecil stated. "I'm sure there's other groups, Cliff... if you hate them, why are you still in a band?"

"I was hoping to see some improvement, but they don't care at all", the red inkling admitted. "But... ugh, it's been a month, and I can't take it anymore. I'm gonna quit today, and just be done with it." He then glanced at his watch, before pulling out his key for his apartment. "Speaking of which, I gotta meet up with them soon, so I gotta get ready. I'll talk to you three later, and I promise I'll call sooner this time. Maybe next week?"

"Sounds good", Ursula said, "though I hoped you'd be able to talk for a while. I love you, squiddo."

"Love you, too, Ma", Cliff said with a smile. "And Uncle Cecil and Aunt Lydia."

There was a chorus of "Bye!" and "Love you!" from the other line before he hung up, putting his phone away. He decided quickly to clean up and change clothes, wearing a Rockenburg brand leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans to go with it. He then slipped on a pair of black boots to finish his ensemble.

"Here's hoping they won't be too mad when I quit", Cliff muttered, depositing his brush and grabbing his guitar-case. There was already an amplifier at their studio (for lack of a better term), so he didn't have to bother with bringing his own. It only took fifteen minutes to get their by train, and once he arrived, his frown deepened as he realized he was the only one who made it on time. "Of course..."

Normally, Cliff always waited for his bandmates, but with the frustration he'd been feeling lately, he decided there was no point this time. He promptly took his red guitar out of it's case, tuning it and making sure everything sounded right before he plugged it into the amp. While strumming lightly, making sure the cords weren't damaged, he unzipped his jacket, revealing only a black, sleeveless t-shirt underneath the jacket as he deposited it to the side. He then closed his eyes, imagining the chords. A dull roar of a crowd began playing in his mind, as he readied his hands, forming the chords.

Then he began to play.

The chords struck through his very being as he began the long solo at the beginning of his favorite song. He had spent months learning how to play it, and years perfecting it. Now, he knew it so well that he could play it with his eyes closed, and it still sounded perfect. He focused hard on his guitar, imagining the other instruments playing in the background, the vocalist screaming out to the crowd, and the thousands of cheers and screams he got in return for his gift of music.

This was his time. This was his moment. And for seven minutes, he reveled in it, free from the weight that his bad put on him, free from having to hold back.

Then, as quickly as he started, he soon realized he was reaching the end. He made sure that every single strum, every pluck of a string, and every sound from the amp was pure perfection, as he finally ended the song, panting. He didn't even know he had been playing so hard, as he could feel the sweat dripping from his brow.

"What the FUCK was that?!"

Cliff jumped slightly, his eyes shooting open as he looked to where the sound came from. There, in all of his douchebag glory, was the lead vocalist, Drake. His blue tentacles weren't tied back, like a normal boy; they framed his face as they hung down, though it would be impossible to mistake him for a girl. He had a very solid frame, showing more masculinity than other inklings his age, and his green eyes glared at the shade-wearing guitarist. What was new, however, was the girl standing next to him. Her natural color, Cliff guessed, was pink, as her long tentacles hung down to her hips. She was definitely taller than average, but she was still shorter than Cliff was, making him the tallest inkling still. Her pale skin was obvious compared to Drake's dark tone, and she wore a tight fitting white top and black shorts, and a pair of red sneakers on her feet.

"What do you mean?" Cliff asked cooly, looking to Drake. "I was warming up."

"That was a warm up?! Bull shrimp!" Drake yelled, approaching Cliff. "That was 'Through the Storm and the Rain'! How did you manage to play something like that?!"

"I've been practicing it for years, Drake", Cliff said calmly. "I just never played for you guys because your drummer couldn't keep up with me."

"Say that again!" Drake growled. "How are we supposed to be the best when you're holding back on us?! We could have landed a hundred gigs by now if you showed your skill!"

"And what good would my skill be if you idiots can't keep up?" Cliff pointed out angrily. "I've been waiting to see improvement from all of you, but you keep goofing off, and I'm sick of it!"

"We take this band really seriously!" Drake shouted. "I even brought my girl here to show her how cool we were!"

"If I may", the girl suddenly piped up, gaining both boys' attention. "I didn't know you had talent like this with you, Drake. I just thought you started this up to impress me, but it looks like you do have someone who actually knows what they're doing."

"Sorry to disappoint you, miss", Cliff interrupted, "but today's my last day. I'm quitting."

"You can't quit!" Drake roared. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"You don't have any say in my decisions, Drake." The red inkling began to pack up his guitar. "Have fun without me; I'm not holding myself back just to help out your loser band."

Drake wanted to slug Cliff, but he needed the guitarist. "Come on, Cliff! What'll it take to get you to stay? Cash? I got plenty of that! Girls? I can give you the numbers of some cute ones!"

"Hey!" the pink girl said with a growl, not liking his tone. "How do you know the numbers of other girls? I thought _I_ was your girlfriend!"

Drake, realizing his slip up, turned to his girlfriend. "Um... well, you see..."

"Oh, I see how it is! You've been cheating on me, haven't you?!"

"Marina, now is really not the time..."

"After I wasted my time on you, after I spent all that effort moving in with you and dealing with _your_ lazy ass, you go and _cheat_ _on me_?!" Marina said with a withering glare. "You are in trouble now, _bastard_!"

The stress of it all got to the blue inkling. With the mix of losing his guitarist, and digging himself into a hole with his girl, he didn't know what to do.

So his body moved on its own.

The sound of a palm hitting skin got Cliff's attention, and he looked up, seeing Marina's face being forced to the side as Drake's palm flew by her cheek. Drake had an ultimately pissed off look on his face.

"Shut up!" Drake screamed. "Shut up, you fucking bitch! I've been dealing with your nagging for way too long, and you won't even fucking put out! Shut the fuck up!"

However, with his attention solely on Marina, Drake didn't notice he was in danger until the last second. Cliff grabbed onto Drake's arm, the one he had used to slap Marina, and flipped the blue inkling onto his back, before kicking him hard in the gut. Drake practically coughed up a lung, before wheezing in pain. Cliff glared down at the blue inkling, his anger rolling off of him in waves.

"Who do you think you are?" Cliff hissed down at Drake. "What kind of a squid hits a girl? Calls her a bitch? Cheats on her in the first place? She was willing to give you a chance, and you just spit in her face, you douchebag." Cliff leaned down, grabbing Drake's tentacle and forcing his head up to look him in the eye as the blue inkling winced in pain. "I'm leaving... and if I ever hear of you hitting her again... there is nowhere in this city where you can hide from me."

With that, Cliff let go of Drake, who curled up and continued his groaning. The red inkling sighed, but he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit sorry. He hadn't meant to hit Drake that hard, but his anger had gotten the better of him again. He looked up at Marina, who was staring at the both of them. Cliff moved back to his guitar, finishing packing it up, before he walked over to Marina, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm... sorry", he said softly, though he wasn't sure whey he was apologizing to her. "I went overboard on your boyfriend..."

"Ex-boyfriend", she immediately corrected, bringing a hand up to her stinging cheek as she glared at Drake. "He lost the right to call me his girlfriend when he hit me." She looked up at Cliff, her expression softening. "Would you mind if I walked with you? I have to call a girlfriend and set up some sleeping arrangements until I can find a place to live..."

The red inkling blinked, then remembering that, in all of the commotion, she did mention the fact that she lived with Drake. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I can do that", he said. "Where does your friend live?"

"Flounder Heights..."

"Same as me, then. We'll head there together."

With that, the two of them left the tiny studio with a groaning blue inkling curled up on the floor.

XxXxXxX

"So... how did you get involved with a guy like that?"

Marina glanced over to Cliff. He had been quiet while she called her girlfriend and confirmed she could stay there. Now the two were on the train to Flounder Heights, pretty much alone in a car, when the red inkling asked the question. The inquiry startled the pink girl, and when Cliff saw her raised eyebrow, he turned away. "Sorry... not my place to ask. I was just curious. Forget it."

Her expression softened, and she sighed. "No, it's okay. Just surprised me is all..." She leaned back, thinking. "Well, a few months ago, I had just finished a Turf War when a blue inkling came up to me, asking me out. Back then, Drake was... cuter, I guess is the word I'd use."

That made Cliff snort. "He was cute? I'll bet a thousand coins that it was a trick of the light or something."

That got the inkling girl to giggle. "Not physically... but he was a lot nicer back then. He was soft spoken, and avoided eye contact. I later found out that when he asked me out, he had lost his voice due to singing practice, and was embarrassed by that. Anyway, we spent time together, and... well, my last roommate and I couldn't get along, so I asked him if he had a spare room I could stay in." Marina groaned. "Worst mistake I made. After I moved in, I think he got it in his head that I was officially his until he decided something better came along, because he stopped putting effort into our dates and didn't even bother making time to spend with me. I had to clean up after him, feed myself because he'd always be out with his friends... honestly, I was probably gonna break up with him sooner or later. The only time he ever wanted to talk was to try and get into my pants, which I wasn't ready for yet."

Cliff looked at her outfit. "Well, considering the clothes you're wearing, I think you teased him a little too much."

Marina blushed angrily, glaring at him. "What, are you on his side now?"

"No way", the red inkling immediately denied, keeping a cool face. "I'm just from a small town, and everyone there dressed pretty conservatively. The only time I ever saw skin on a girl was whenever the ones I grew up with decided to wear shorts on a hot summers day... or when my mom decided to go running with me." He looked at Marina, giving a humored smile. "Imagine my reaction when I came to the city and saw so many girls wearing tight clothes and skirts all the time. I thought I was gonna die during my first week."

The image of the cool-headed inkling losing it at the sight of girls in such casual outfits got Marina giggling like mad. Of course, it wasn't true, but Cliff was glad he was able to make her laugh and forget her problems. Soon, the train came to a halt at their station, and they both stepped off. As they headed to the apartment complex, Marina decided to speak up again. "So... why were you so brutal to Drake? Did your dad beat up your mom or something?"

"Nope. Never knew my dad... and technically, I'm adopted, so I never knew my biological mother, either. I was raised by my Ma, and my 'aunt and uncle'", Cliff stated, imagining his family in his mind. "My Uncle Cecil, though... he's an old fashioned squid and a farmer, so he has plenty of opinions that he will stand up for until he dies. He told me it's never okay to hit a girl unless she's hurting you. If she's trying to hurt you, then you're fine to defend yourself, but a real inkling doesn't start a fight with one. I kinda took that to heart."

"I see", Marina said, smiling. "Well... whoever ends up with you is a lucky girl. What's your name?"

"Cliff. Cliff Ulu."

"Nice to meet you, Cliff Ulu. My name's Marina Acqua." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "My friend lives on the north side of the complex. What about you?"

"I live right next to the battle-zone, so I guess this is where we split." He casually brought a hand around her, pulling her into a hug and getting a squeak of surprise in response. "If you ever need my help, I'm always willing. Just keep a lookout for the only red inkling in Inkopolis, okay?"

"R-right", Marina stuttered, smiling at him. "I will, I promise." She broke away from him, heading to the north. She then turned back to him. "Sleep tight, Cliff Ulu."

"You too, Marina Acqua", Cliff said in response, giving her a gentle smirk. He then turned heading for his apartment.

If he had glanced back, he'd see Marina hadn't moved yet, and instead was watching him. Her hand went to her chest, and she could feel her cheeks turn a bright pink. "Woomy", she whispered, watching as he vanished around the corner.


	4. How Do You Lose a Zapfish?

The sound of an alarm rang throughout the small studio apartment. A loud groan soon followed, and a hand reached out, grabbing the clock and turning off said alarm. Then a red-tentacled head popped up, rubbing his silver eyes as he yawned. "Time for another fun day..."

After the fiasco with his previous band, Cliff spent all of his days fighting in Turf Wars until he finally reached the proper "level of freshness" to start the Ranked Battles. His trusty Octobrush was his weapon of choice, and rapidly he climbed in rank to A, where he made a steady amount of cash for every match he won. Granted, he was starting to get into trouble, running into other inklings with decent skill to match him, but he saw it as a challenge rather than a problem.

But besides that, Cliff also worked on his music. Rather than finding a new band, Cliff decided to not even bother with other people anymore; he was going to write and perform his own music. That did mean he wouldn't be able to perform it live for quite a while, but he wanted to at least try to get his foot in the door; being a musician was one of his big goals in life, and even if it was short lived, he wanted to at least try his hardest first.

That leads to today, six months after the last time we peeked in on his progress. He dressed in a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and grabbed his favorite pair of sunglasses, fully intent on keeping his eyes covered. He then collected a pair of goggles as well and his guitar and brush. He didn't know if he would do any battles today, but he knew it would be best if he were prepared for such an event. Instead of wearing the sunglasses into Inkopolis Tower, he found a pair of dark goggles that would work instead, since they wouldn't slide off of his face without someone trying to grab them first.

Once all of his gear was with him, he headed out, moving to the main plaza. Not far from there was the studio he often played at; for a small fee, they'd let him use a spare recording studio to not only practice his skills, but record anything that he enjoyed. A few songs, he thought, sounded really good, and he posted them onto a well-known site that could sell them to anyone who wanted to listen. Unfortunately, not very many people had bought them yet, and with his hectic life, he didn't have much of a chance to get onto social media and promote himself.

Cliff arrived at the studio, but raised an eyebrow as he saw one of the workers standing in front of the door, staring at a sign. Cliff walked over, reading the same paper.

 **Dear Customers,**

 **It is with regret that we have to close our doors at the moment. Due to an unforeseen shortage of power, we can't keep our business running. As soon as this problem has been resolved, we will gladly welcome you back into our doors.**

 **Management**

"Power shortage?" Cliff asked, looking to the blue-haired employee.

"Yeah, dude", the boy said. "The Squid Sisters announced it this morning; The Great Zapfish has gone missing, along with most of its babies."

"How does someone lose a giant electric catfish and its babies overnight?" Cliff asked, crossing his arms.

"Dunno; just that enough of the babies are missing that everyone's getting spooked about it", the blue boy said with a shrug. "We have enough power to run the Inkopolis Tower, the hospitals, and for basic necessities, like standard living, but... if we don't have enough in our reserves, Splatfest will be cancelled, and even the Tower's gonna be shut down."

Cliff frowned, sighing. Well, that was a bad deal, but what could he do? Complaining about it wasn't going to help him in any way; neither him or the boy had authoritative power. "Great... well, thanks for the info, dude."

"No problem, bro", the blue boy said before walking off. "Man, I was hoping I could get a day off today... need to practice with my splatling."

Cliff grumbled, before deciding to head back to the plaza. He could see what kind of games were being played for Rank Battle, and if it was Tower Control, he would just call it a day and try again tomorrow. Without the Zapfish, he couldn't do much else.

As he headed back to the plaza, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. No one was looking at him as far as he could tell, but as the feeling didn't vanish, he slipped into the training that his mother had given him. Suddenly, time seemed to slow for him, and he did a slow scan of the area, hoping to find something out of place.

And find it he did. A curious creature was sticking its head out of the sewer near the tower. It seemed to be an inkling, as he could see the tell-tale black markings around its eyes, but this one was much older than any other he had met. Whatever color it was before had vanished, leaving only a pale, sickly color for both its skin and beard (causing Cliff to assume it was male). The inkling wore only a tattered drape over his body, but what really struck him odd was the fact the old man was wearing a blue military cap and a polished golden pin on his drape. Despite how shoddy his clothes were, the medal and his cap looked to be in good condition, despite the obvious patches in the inkling's cap.

Then the older inkling made a motion to him, crooking his finger as if he was trying to subtly call Cliff over.

Cliff felt that he should turn and walk away, ignore the old man and get the information he needed. But the old inkling had what seemed to be a desperate look in his eyes, and while Cliff wanted to run, he slowly walked forward, to the old man in the sewer. How had no one else seen him?

Once Cliff was close enough, he knelt down, looking at the old Inkling with a puzzled expression. "Can I help you, sir?" he asked, making sure he was far enough away so the old man couldn't grab him.

"It's not a matter if you can help me, bucko", the older inkling said, his voice matching his age. "It's a matter of if you can help Inkopolis."

That wasn't what Cliff was expecting. "Help... Inkopolis...?"

"That's right", the old inkling said. "I want to explain here... but if they were able to sneak the Great Zapfish out from under my nose, it's not safe to talk here." From how he looked around cautiously, Cliff couldn't help but assume that he had years of military experience. Then again, he did have a medal pinned to the tarp he wore, so maybe that wasn't such a breakthrough discovery. "I need you to follow me... the whole of Inkopolis depends on it!"

With that, the crusty old Inkling vanished back into the sewer, which definitely made younger Cliff raise an eyebrow. He should have just turned around and walk away... but this old man mentioned the Great Zapfish and saving Inkopolis... and while he wasn't interested in really saving Inkopolis, he did want to bring the power reserves up so he could record again. After making sure he had all of his equipment with him, he jumped in after the old man, vanishing into the dark depths.

XxXxXxX

When Cliff saw the light again, he was in a brand new location, one that was so alien and foreign... and yet familiar and warm. The cliff walls surrounded the old man's shack forebodingly, and the red inkling noticed a rock formation that seemed to be carved into the shape of an octopus in the distance. He then turned to the old man, seeing pictures of... honestly, horrifying creatures on a bulletin board, tacked with string running between the pictures. These... things looked like odd tentacles, with one green eye in the center over a purple mouth, and seemed to come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all were the same reddish-purple color.

"Welcome to Octo Valley, bucko", the old inkling said, getting his attention. "This is where my base is. I know, it doesn't look like much, but it's home to me."

Cliff looked around, putting his guitar down, along with his backpack that held his extra gear. "Alright, sir... maybe you could start from the beginning. Like... what your name is."

"Right", the old Inkling stated leaning on his bamboozler-looking cane. "I'm Cap'n Cuttlefish, leader of the Legendary Squidbeak Splatoon."

That name was definitely known to Cliff. His mother mentioned it several times as he grew up, but he didn't want to give away that his mom was an octoling, so he decided to word his recognition differently. "You mean the group that almost single-handedly beat the Octarian troops? From over 100 years ago?"

The old inkling gave a wry grin. "Someone's been keeping up with their history. Yep, very same one." He looked tot he bulletin board, his grin fading. "Speaking of which, unfortunately, you already named our enemy. No one believes me, but I know the Octarians stole our zapfish. I was keeping an eagle-eye out for activity, but... they managed to steal the Great Zapfish right from under my nose!"

"And let me guess… you want my help to save it", Cliff said calmly. He looked around where he was. The Zapfish was a top priority, but Cliff was told to always avoid this place, no matter what. Ursula was very adamant about hammering it into his head from the day they started training together.

 _"Octo Valley is no place for Inklings",_ she had told him. _"Never go there, no matter what."_

Cliff looked at the stony walls with a bit of apprehension. He didn't want to go against what his mom said, but this was an emergency. The Zapfish were missing, and their way of life was being threatened.

"Cap'n, sir", Cliff said softly, gaining the man's attention. "If I refuse… what will you do?"

The older Inkling shrugged. "I'll probably try to recruit another soldier. I already have Agents 1 and 2 working their hardest, but I can't produce enough ink anymore, and they need all the help they can get."

That gave Cliff a deep frown. Even if he didn't help, the Cap'n was still adamant about getting another agent to help him out. It probably shouldn't have bugged Cliff as much as it actually did; a lot of the inklings that he had interacted with in Inkopolis were rather skilled in turf wars, and it would be even better if the Cap'n was able to recruit a Rank S battler, rather than himself.

But those were friendly battles, done for sport. This was a fight to the death; if there were any mistakes, the poor soul that got dragged into this would die for sure, especially if they didn't come from a military family. There wasn't any need for aggression in this day and age; it had been over 100 years since their last war, and it was unlikely that a lot of young Inkling nowadays had proper military training.

His mom, however, was an elite in the Octoling army at one point. She taught him tricks and helped him hone skills that would give him an edge in the Turf Wars. In her society, the one that she trained him under, the strongest survived.

Cliff gave a sigh. "Fine. I'll help you out."

The captain gave a big smile underneath his beard. "I appreciate it! Starting today, you're Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon!" He walked into his base, shuffling about. "I have the perfect gear for you here somewhere… ah, here it is!" The older inkling turned around, holding a set of gear for the boy to wear. It consisted of a black shirt with a neon yellow vest over it, black and yellow shoes with blue lights glowing dimly from the heels, and what looked to be a pair of headphones, triangular that would fit snugly onto the back of his head with the same blue lights glowing from them. Cliff blanched a bit; if that was supposed to help him steal the zapfish back, it was obvious that he wasn't going to be using stealth very often. He then noticed that the captain was handing him a gun, and frowned a bit.

The older inkling, of course, noticed, and gave an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Bucko, but this is all I have. It's still in good condition, despite being a hand-me-down, so it should still fit."

Cliff sighed reluctantly, and nodded. "Right." He wasn't upset about the clothes, but the gun was going to be a problem; he wasn't used to shooting as much as he was used to flicking his paintbrush. It would take some time before he was able to use this weapon properly. Slipping out of his jeans and black shirt, he soon was only down to the one-piece body suit underneath, slipping on the safety vest and headphones first, and then sitting down to properly pull the shoes on. "So, what do I have to do?"

"Well, to enter different parts of the valley", Cap'n Cuttlefish explained, pointing over to a spot not too far away from his shack, "you need to access the kettles at the top of the valley. This is where Octarian's live, and each one has an artificial environment inside of them. The entrances are hidden, though, by some poor cloaking technology."

"Cloaking?" Cliff asked. "That sounds pretty advanced compared to what we have… I thought Octarians survive off of scraps of Inkling junk?"

"I'll explain more later!" Cuttlefish responded, huffing a bit. "We need to get to work right away, bucko! Once you find a kettle entrance, just shoot it with ink to get rid of the cloaking, and jump in! Inkopolis is depending on us!"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh, you're a lively old man, aren't you?" he said, ignoring the indignant Captain's sputtering. He walked forward, and soon came to feel something different under his shoe. He looked down, and noticed that the light seemed to bend around whatever he was standing on, and decided to shoot at the object underfoot. Eventually, a metallic entrance appeared with a vent on it. He glanced back at where he came from, noticing that Cuttlefish's shack was not too far away; probably only about a yard away or so.

Cliff could feel a single drop of sweat drip down his neck. How had the Octarians not noticed where their sworn enemy lived? Shaking his head and focusing on the task at hand, and shifted into his squid form, vanishing into the dark depths of the kettle. A high-pitched whistle and metallic clang later, and the inkling was gone.

XxXxXxX

When Cliff could see again, he could hardly believe his eyes. It looked like he was still outside... but that was impossible. From the rush he had felt, he had traveled several miles downward, underneath the earth. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the thin lines along the scenery, determining that this "scenic view" was entirely artificial. "What the...?"

" _Agent 3, report!_ " A buzz of static and the Cap'n's voice suddenly rang in his ears, and poor Cliff had to wince and pull the headphones away for a second to protect himself from the sudden noise. He located the volume button on the headset and lowered it, until Cuttlefish's voice didn't stab him as much as it did a second ago.

"Agent 3 here, Cap'n", the red inkling said once he was certain everything was okay. "I'm in the kettle... and it looks so... horrifyingly beautiful." He looked up, glancing at the somehow floating islands above him and around him. "Are they all built like this?"

" _Give or take a few floating islands_ ", Cuttlefish said, the smirk evident on his voice. " _Even after so much time, I can't get tired of the new agents getting their first taste inside a kettle._ "

"I'm glad I can entertain you", Cliff said dryly. "So, do you have a way to help me out here?"

" _Of course_ ", Cuttlefish confirmed. " _I have a strict partner system, bucko. No agent goes alone... even if your partner only happens to be a voice in your headphones._ "

Cliff had to admit that line made him smile a bit.

" _There's a special tablet in your uniform breast-pocket. I think Agent 2 told me that it uses some sort of technology to make a map, but I haven't been on a mission in a long time... I'm not entirely sure._ "

Cliff felt his pocket, noticing the small tablet, and pulled it out. Once he found the on switch, he discovered that it did create some sort of map. It wasn't exact, but then again, the technology looked really new; it was probably experimental, or a prototype. He looked up from it, and finally noticed the pool of purple ink, and the odd creature that was scooting around in some sort of little cart.

"So that's an octarian", Cliff muttered, staring ahead. The enemy did not look at all like what he had expected; he had seen his mother's octopus form multiple times, and from her explanation, knew that regular Octarians were not as developed... but it was very difficult to imagine that the being in front of him was essentially a red tentacle with green eyes and humongous lips. At first glance, that was all he thought it was, but he did manage to spot a pair of tiny legs and feet at the base of the creature, standing on the... platform, for lack of a better term. Behind the first on the box were two more that looked exactly the same, patrolling in a large puddle of purple ink.

" _If one spots you, there's no doubt he'll raise an alarm_ ", Cuttlefish said in a calm tone. " _You'll have to splat him or sneak past him without being detected._ "

That made Cliff grin at first. Stealth was his specialty after all. With his brush, if he managed to get past an enemy team, it would spell a lot of trouble by the time they finally noticed. However, that grin soon fell. "Sir, normally I'd say that stealth is my forte, but with this gun, there's no doubt he'll hear me when I fire any shots."

" _No worries, bucko_ ", Cuttlefish replied. " _Octarians may be able to create technology that few minds can wrap around, but they're surprisingly dim. Though I do recommend splatting the foe; some areas can only be accessed when the guard is taken out._ "

Cliff gave a low groan. He didn't want to fight the things; they looked so pathetic. Plus, he had spent most of his life with an Octoling, and he wasn't sure he was willing to fight them to the death. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

However, his decision was made when he heard a low gurgle, and the cry of "An intruder!" The first octarian had spotted him, and all three had started shooting ink at him. Cliff cursed silently as he dodged, firing a wide line of ink to escape quickly. Without even thinking about it, Cliff fired at the tentacle, covering it in green splotches before it exploded into the same color of ink that he was, a light green. After doing the same to the others, he managed to climb up a small ramp, escaping the purple ink and ending up on a lit up pad.

" _Good job, Bucko!_ " the Captain praised. " _Looks like you got to the first Spawn Point!_ "

"Spawn Point?" Cliff asked, the phrase familiar. Upon taking another look, he noted that it indeed looked like what was used back in the Turf Wars and Ranked Battles.

" _Yep! But be careful. These can only save you a total of three times! After that, if you get splat, it's game over!_ "

Cliff swallowed nervously. He did know from the start that this was dangerous, but only now did it finally hit him.

If he messed up, he was going to die.

 _"If you screw up in a real battle, you're going to die! So think of this training as a real battle, and think of me as your enemy! Do you want to survive or not?!"_

That was when the familiar voice of his mother came into his head. He took a deep breath, remembering that he had been trained as if he was being sent to war. He knew that his Ma had only done this to give him an edge in the battles back in Inkopolis, but he silently thanked whatever power lead him to be adopted by his Ma.

"So, do you think these Octarians have this kind of technology, too?" he asked, calming himself down.

" _Can't say for sure, bucko_ ", Cuttlefish said morosely. " _If they do, I'm sure it's only available to their elite soldiers. I've never seen a standard octarian come back from being splat, but maybe I've just never paid attention._ "

Cliff sighed once more, making sure his weapon was ready for the next challenge. "Alright, Cap'n... walk me through this if you can."

XxXxXxX

Marina sighed as she lightly dragged her fork around her plate. She had ordered a mussel salad, but barely had taken a bit. All she could really do was drag her utensil slowly around her food, making the illusion that she was trying to find something to eat in there.

"Marina, are you okay?" The voice surprised the pink inkling, and she looked up to her friend, Aurora. The light blue inkling looked to her friend with concern, motioning down to her plate. "You've barely touched your food... that's not like you at all."

Marina swallowed a bit, pushing her bowl away. "I guess I'm just not hungry."

"And that's a surefire sign that something is wrong", Aurora pushed, leaning closer to her. "Is this about... the breakup? You've been really... out of it since you and Drake cut it off. You're not...?"

Marina glanced at the light-blue inkling with a raised eyebrow, before she finally got what the girl was implying, and groaned. "Ugh! No, no! Never again! I am never going to crawl back to that bastard!" She shook her head in disgust. "I don't want anything to do with him ever again!"

"Then what is your deal, girl?" Aurora asked, moving her hand to brush a tentacle out of her dark face. "You've been losing your train of thought so quickly, I could've sworn that train turned into a plane, and you eat so little that I think you've lost even more weight since your diet a year ago."

"I dunno... I just feel... meh", Marina said with a shrug. "I mean, it was a kinda long relationship... but I'm all moved out, I got all my stuff, I made sure he lost my number and I got rid of his... but since that night I've been really out of it. I feel sluggish, I don't want to do anything... my job has been... bleh. Even the world around me seems to be dull."

"Looks like someone's got a case of broken heart", Aurora told her. "That's what happens when you really like a guy and you're sure you'll never see him again, and it takes a while to get over."

"Yeah...", Marina said. She glanced at her friend, looking back at her bowl. The two were sitting outside, enjoying the sunlight while they could. It was later in the day, and the sun was slowly descending into the horizon, beginning to cast the scenery into a vibrant shades of orange, but to Marina, it just seemed like another slow sunset.

However, then her eyes caught sight of red, and the world seemed to be full of life again.

"Cliff!" she suddenly called out, raising her hand as he turned around to see who was calling him. "Cliff Ulu!"

The red inkling, still wearing his sunglasses and now back in his normal gear, spotted Marina waving him down, and deciding to at least be civil, walked over. "Marina, right?" he asked, tilting his head. "Drake's ex?"

"Yeah, that's me", Marina said, giving him a smile. "Long time no see. How have you been?"

"Been doing alright", Cliff said softly, not used to talking to a lot of inklings. Heck, it took all he had to focus on the mission and respond to Cuttlefish whenever he chimed in for the first baby zapfish. He agreed to come back the next day and work on saving more of the critters, but he made a condition; he was going to be using his brush next time.

So now, he was already tired, and now he was interacting with someone he had only met once months ago.

"Mostly been battling in the Turf Wars, working on my guitar, stuff like that", he said to Marina politely, silently hoping that she wouldn't take up too much of his time.

"Oh really?" she asked, leaning her head on her arm, something that was immediately noticed by Aurora. "Are you gonna join another band?"

"Not anytime soon, I can tell you that. After that gong show, I'm not ready for another group like that." He glanced over to Aurora, nodding his head politely. "And you are...?"

"Aurora. Marina's friend", the dark inkling responded, shaking hands with him. "She hasn't told me much about you, though... other than you kicked the shit out of her ex."

"Yeah, well, not much to tell", Cliff told the ligh-blue tentacled girl. "Anyway, I should probably head back-"

"Oh, no!" Marina said, standing up. "Come on, I haven't seen you in months! We gotta hang out a bit! Let's get some food together, I'm starving!"

Cliff blinked behind his sunglasses. What was with the sudden interest? He then glanced down at her bowl. "But... you already have a salad..."

Marina looked down, started blushing and sat back down, feeling rather stupid. How did she forget about that? Now he was gonna think she was a pig, and ate way more than any other girl did, and find her disgusting.

Luckily, it was Aurora to the rescue. "Oh, this? This was just a snack", she said. "I had a light salad with no protein. 'Bout to head home and really make a meal for myself."

Marina brightened up at that, silently thanking her friend. "Yeah, what she said! Come on, Cliff, please? For me?" She leaned a little closer, looking up at him and batting her eyelashes.

Cliff didn't know what to say, and a light dusting of pink covered his cheeks. But he was tired, and didn't want to stay, and he was told to always be honest. So, he sighed. "Marina, I'm gonna be honest here; I'm really tired from today, and I'd like to head home. And I'm not really a... people person."

"Oh...", Marina said softly, her eyes lowering. "Alright... Fair's fair..."

The red inkling looked down at her, and couldn't stand to see the look on her face. Was she really that bummed out to not be able to hang with him? He thought about it, and soon decided what harm could come from this. "... well... I guess we can set up something for later... like, maybe two days from now?" He pulled out his Squidphone, bringing up the dial pad. "Here, put your number in here, and I'll shoot you a text so that we can set it up."

Marina looked up, surprised for a moment, but soon gave a smile. "Sure!" She snatched his phone quickly, punching in the numbers quickly. She then saved her number under the contact name "Marina". "Here you go... promise you'll text me?"

"Promise", Cliff said, turning away after he put his phone away. "See you around."

"See ya", Marina said, watching him walk away. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him as he walked off, her eyes glancing downwards a little bit before a sudden cough pulled her out of her reverie, and she turned to see the smug look on Aurora's face.

"You know... I thought you were suffering from Broken Heart Syndrome, but now I know you were just having a withdrawal", she teased.

"What?" Marina said, blowing a raspberry shortly. "No I'm not. What are you talking about?"

"Hun, you were eying him like you do ice-cream sundaes. I never saw you look at anyone like that, boy or girl", Aurora stated, grinning at Marina. "If that isn't love, I don't know what is."

"It's not love!" Marina said, blushing fiercely. "I don't know him well enough to be in love!"

"Well, you _definitely_ are interested", Aurora pointed out, taking a sip of her soda.

"Oh, shut up!" Marina said in a defensive tone. "Why would I be interested? Just because he's got red tentacles, I've never seen his eyes before, he beat the shit out of Drake when he slapped me, he has a great ass... yeah, this isn't making my case, is it?" Once she realized what she had said, her face turned a scarlet color as she slumped into her seat.

"Not at all", Aurora said with a giggle, content to let her friend sit there and calm down... or shoot more steam out of her ears. Whichever happened first.


	5. Mighty Octostomp

"Way to be, Agent 3!" Cap'n Cuttlefish exclaimed, smiling as Cliff walked back to the shack with two more baby zapfish in hand. The boy was able to easily track down the other two zapfish in the area near the old man's base, using his brush to speed past the enemies and sneak out without being detected. "I'll make sure they get back to Inkopolis, no problem. Did you put the decoys back into the bulbs?"

Cliff nodded. "Like with the first." The inkling boy had to admit, the idea of stuffed Zapfish seemed like a silly one, but it turns out these things conduct and generate electricity rather well. Not like the actual living versions, but enough that hopefully the Octarians wouldn't notice or wouldn't need to steal the babies again.

As Cliff thought about the zapfish, though, he remembered an interesting looking kettle not too long ago. While he was traveling through the other environments, he noticed one kettle that was quite large, compared to the others. Unlike the small ones he traveled into, the big one had no vent, and could not be accessed. It wasn't even cloaked at all, but simply impenetrable... at least, until he stole the last zapfish. When he was on his way back, he noticed a lid slide off the large kettle, revealing a vent like the smaller ones. He was concerned about it, and thus, decided to question the captain.

"Um... Cap'n, sir?" he asked. "I noticed something on my way back..."

"Hmm? What did yer peepers spot?" the old inkling asked.

"Well... there was this really big kettle back near the third one I went into", he described. "It looked older than the small ones I traveled into, and for a while, it was locked up... but now the lid is off of it, and I can travel into it."

Cuttlefish placed a hand to his chin, scratching his beard slowly as he leaned on his bamboo cane. "Hm... so the Boss Kettle is open now, huh?"

"Boss kettle?"

"Aye, bucko", Cuttlefish affirmed. "It's a location where the more important soldiers of the Octarian Army reside. I have no doubt they're holding at least one more zapfish in there, but..."

"But what, sir?" Cliff asked, hefting his Octobrush onto his shoulder. "If there's a zapfish still in there, I should go get it, right? I still have another hour before I should head back into Inkopolis-"

"No, Agent 3", the Cap'n rebuked. "You may be an agent now, but you're still a novice. I'm not letting you go in there without Agents 1 and 2 for backup."

"Wait, what?" Cliff rebuked, frowning. "You mean the two agents that I haven't met yet? I can't work with people who haven't bothered to even introduce themselves or at least send me a comm link."

"Well, they've been busy", the Cap'n countered. "Like you, they have their own lives to live. I asked you for help because they can only do so much."

"Well, when will they get here to help me? How long do I have to wait?"

"Well, considering they said they'd be more active starting next week-"

"A WEEK?!" Cliff exclaimed, growling. "I can't wait a week for them to clear up their schedules! What if the octarians are building something that can do a lot of damage to my home?"

"Cliff, calm down", Cuttlefish, raising one hand. "The octarians survive off of scraps and pieces! They couldn't possibly get the parts to put together anything besides armor and octoshots!"

"And they managed to steal our zapfish, Ca'n!" Cliff argued. "Inkopolis is running out of power thanks to them! I may have reservations about killing them, but we need those zapfish back if Inkopolis is to survive! We can't work off of reserves forever!" He turned, lowering his brush down onto the ground. "I'm going to the kettle now, Cap'n!"

"Wait! Stop! I order you!" Cuttlefish exclaimed, but his declaration fell on deaf ears. Cliff already sped off to the Boss Kettle, looking into the vent with a determined glare as he adjusted his goggles.

"Don't worry, little zapfish... I'll get you out of there", he said, turning into a squid and diving into the kettle without a second thought.

XxXxXxX

Once arriving into the arena, Cliff adjusted his headset, so that he could at least signal Cap'n Cuttlefish if the need arose. He heard the comm-link sputter a bit, before the old inkling's voice rose.

 _"Are you out of yer mind?!"_ Cuttlefish growled, obviously not happy. _"Get out of that kettle right now, soldier!"_

"Not without the zapfish, Cap'n!" Cliff argued. "I can handle this! I was trained by the best brush user I know! I can handle anything these Octarians can throw at me!" He started walking forward, looking up and grinning. "There aren't even any enemies here! The zapfish is floating above some sort of cube, but this should be no problem at all."

 _"Above a cube...?! AGENT 3, GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"_

However, once the Cap'n exclaimed that, a monstrously sized red tentacle shout out of the cube, latching onto the bulb the critter was trapped in. The baby let out a horrified shriek before being pulled into the device, and a surge of sparks shot through the cube. Cliff recoiled a bit, pulling his brush off of his back and holding it in both hands. "What the hell?!"

That was when it moved. Suddenly, the cube jumped up into the air, turning to face the agent. The side that the tentacle came from was now facing away from him, and Cliff could only stare in shock and disgust at the purple face that glared at him. Green eyes stared him down, and mounstrous purple lips curled into a sneer.

"So... you're the slimy little worm that wriggled it's way in here", the cube said, it's voice thundering as it glared down at him. "You gotta have a lot of guts to make it this far, Inkling."

"W-W-What are you?!" Cliff exclaimed, any tone of confidence lacking in his words. His mother had trained him to fight toe-to-toe against Inklings, not... whatever the hell this was!

"So the mighty Captain Cuttlefish sent a kid to do his dirty work this time, huh? Nothing like the agents that I've been told about! Should be easy to stomp you into a puddle, little brat!" the cube roared. Using it's tiny legs, the hulking monstrosity raced forward, it's head leaning forward to give it momentum. "Hold still for Octostomp, punk!"

 _"To the side, Agent 3!"_ the Cap'ns voice called out. _"Run to the side!"_

Cliff followed Cuttlefish's orders only by instinct alone, and managed to narrowly avoid being squished by the cube. Once it was face first on the ground, Cliff could see the little legs and the massive tentacle on the cube's back flailing rapidly, almost as if trying to pull this thing up. "Cap'n, what am I facing here?! What is that thing?!"

 _"It's the Octostomp! This thing's one of the great Octo-Weapons from the Turf War a hundred years ago! I had no idea they were trying to reactivate them, but this isn't good!"_

"I'll say! That thing is humongous compared to everything else! With that kind of mass, it could..." That was when Cliff's eyes widened even more, realizing the implications of this weapon.

 _"It could level buildings without even trying"_ , Cuttlefish said, coming to the same conclusion. His voice changed into one of pure fury. _"Change of plans, Agent 3; you have to destroy this thing! If you let it go without collecting that Zapfish, the Octarians are a step closer to wiping out Inkopolis!"_

That was when Octostomp managed to fling itself back onto its legs, looking around for the inkling. Cliff managed to hide in a puddle of his ink, whispering to the Cap'n. "How?! One hit from that thing and I'm as good as splat! Even with the Spawn Point, that means I can't afford to let him hit me more than three times!"

 _"Then bait him!"_ the Cap'n said. _"These things are designed like tanks, but they have a weak point; when it lands on its face, the tentacle is forced out, leaving the driver of that weapon exposed! I have no doubt he has a spawner in there to keep him in the fight, but if they're as limited in power as I think they are, it'll only work to save him twice!"_

"So, he can't afford to let me hit him either..." Cliff mused. "Thanks, Cap'n... I think I know how to do this now." He jumped out of the ink, slamming his brush on the ground. "Hey, Stompy! Your mother was a Rubix cube; no one wanted to spend the time solving her problems!"

That definitely pissed off the driver, and he roared with pure rage. "My mother was a saint, you slimy Inkling!" With another charge, Octostomp attempted again to squish Cliff, but thanks to his training with the brush, Cliff dodged the weight, forcing Octostomp onto the ground face first. He then noted the walls on the sides of the weapon were inkable, so with a few flicks of his brush, Cliff was able to jump onto the behemoth's back, eying the tentacle that was sticking out of the device. Without a word, Cliff attacked the tentacle, swinging his brush until it was covered in his green ink, swelling at the sting of the ink. Finally, it burst, and the driver of Octostomp let out a painful howl as the red Inkling quickly jumped off, moving away from the device as it leapt back up, the driver giving him a glare.

"Okay, squid, you wanna play hard? I can do that!" With a low gurgle, the Octostomp's eyes and mouth pushed forward, revealing that they were made of metal, and then slammed back into his body. Panels fell off, making it more difficult to climb up on his back, but Cliff couldn't help but sweatdrop at that.

 _Really? I can still climb up that, you know..._

Then the cube ran forward, at a much faster pace. Cliff paled a bit at that, lowering his brush and running as fast as he could. The Octobrush, however, was not the fastest weapon, and he had to jump to avoid being squished this time. However, his tactic seemed to still work, and he was able to climb up, striking the second blow to Octostomp and making another escape. Octostomp once more jumpe up, another howl of pain echoing from the vehicle as the driver turned the machine towards Cliff once more, a rather enraged expression on Stomp's face.

"That's it! Let's see how you handle THIS!" Once more panels were forced off the body of Octostomp, and this time climbing would be rather difficult. At first, it looked like a diagonal line of panels would be Cliff's path to the monster's back. However, with a spark of electricity, the panels began moving, making the trek even more difficult.

 _Okay... that might be a bit tricky,_ Cliff thought, slamming his brush back down onto the ground. He didn't, however, lose his tough facade. "Ooh, so Stompy got rid of some panels! I'm sooo scared!"

Octostomp let out another bellow, running towards Cliff again, and he began running by instinct. _All I gotta do is wait for him to slam his face down again, and then I can climb up his back and-_

However, when Cliff thought he was out of range of Octostomp's attack, the face suddenly changed directions, glaring right at Cliff... and making the brush-user realize he was smack dab in the middle of Octostomp's range. "Gotcha now, _Inkling_!" The behemoth jumped up once more, fully intent on squishing the kid.

He didn't know at first what saved him. One second, he was watching as the giant, purple face came crashing down on him... and then the next, he was rolling away from the impact, feeling something slip out of his hand and something else hit him in the face, forcing him to wince a bit as he groaned, pushing himself up as quickly as he could. He noticed his goggles were missing now, but that was the least of his problems. He reached for his brush, knowing he only had a moment to climb up the weapon's back and finally finish off the driver.

That was when he noticed he didn't have the brush anymore.

In a moment of panic, Cliff looked around, desperately trying to find his weapon. Then, a burning sensation started to attack his face, just underneath his right eye, and he reached up, feeling something sticking out. He gripped onto it, and pulled it out quickly, only to realize in horror that it was a piece of wood, covered in Octarian ink. With a shaky breath, he looked over to where Octostomp landed.

Sticking out, splintered and irreparable, was his Octobrush.

Cliff's eyes widened, and he gripped the wooden shard he had pulled out of his face tighter, baring his fangs. He began glowing in anger, his tentacles flapping around him in power. He then looked at Octostomp's side, and moved without thinking. Reaching into his pocket, he managed to pull out a lot of Burst Bombs, filling them with his ink before covering the moving panels with the green ink before he climbed up. He spotted the massive tentacle, and began smashing the bombs into it. The driver of Octostomp began screaming in pain again, and moved to pull his tentacle back in, but Cliff slammed his foot down onto the writhing limb, somehow managing to keep it in place just long enough to finish the job.

"W-Wait!" came the driver's voice, and Cliff looked to the hole the tentacle came from, seeing a massive green eye staring back at him. "I-If you kill me, my brothers will know you're coming! Security will be upped, big time! If you start this, it won't be over until our leader has your head on a spike!"

Cliff contemplated this, holding the last Burst Bomb in his hand, lobbing it lightly. He then leaned closer to Octostomp's eye. "Well... then you better send this message to not only your brothers... not only your leader... but _every Octarian_ in this valley." He lifted the bomb, his lips curling into a snarl. "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!"

With that final roar, Cliff pushed the burst bomb into the tank, forcing it to explode against Octostomp's eye. The driver screamed in agony once more, and the vehicle itself began shaking and sparking viciously, indicating a critical failure. Cliff managed to Super Jump away just in the nick of time, the box exploding in a majestic green color and covering the entire map in green ink. He let out a few labored breaths, kneeling down, hoping to calm down as his tentacles finally stopped glowing and let gravity take over again.

 _"Agent 3?! Agent 3, report! Answer me boy! Are ya okay?!"_

Cliff gave a smile, sighing and standing up. "Yeah, Cap'n, I'm okay... a little worse for wear, but fine otherwise", he said. He walked over to his broken brush, picking up the pieces. At a simple glance, he already knew the weapon would never work properly again, even if he could get it repaired. And even at that point... there was a slim chance anyone could at least repair the outer casing. The wood had been splintered so badly, he knew that there were many pieces he'd never be able to collect. "I lost my weapon, and I think I'm gonna have a scar under my eye... but I won."

 _"Then get back here as quick as you can, Agent 3",_ Cuttlefish ordered. _"You have brought some bad news, and we need to plan accordingly."_

Cliff nodded, running over to the bulb. Using his bombs, he easily broke the shield surrounding the terrified baby Zapfish, and snatched the critter up. "Zapfish retrieved, Cap'n. Leaving decoy and heading back to base."

XxXxXxX

"Sir, the Octostomp has been destroyed!" came the panicked report.

"What?!" was the enraged response, as DJ Octavio glared at the Octoling that brought the bad news. "How?! Who let that _slimey little hipster_ into our valley?!"

"Unknown, sir! It's suggested they're using abandoned kettles to get into our turf!"

"UNACCEPTABLE!" Octavio roared. "Send out the Octoling squads! I don't want a _single_ zapfish taken from us from now on! _Understood?!_ " The octoling, trembling in her boots, nodded curtly before rushing off to tell the elites. Octavio, meanwhile, turned to one of his battle advisors. "Bring up the footage from the Octostomp Kettle! I want to see this little intruder for myself!"

The Octocopter let out a gurgle, before moving to a console, hitting a few buttons. The battle that just occurred immediately appeared on screen, and Octavio watched with intense focus, observing how the intruder moved. Something about this inkling seemed so strikingly familiar.

After several minutes, the end of the footage reached him, where he saw Octostomp telling the agent what would happen once he died.. He watched Cliff lean in closer to the camera, where the snarl and his silver eyes were rather obvious. "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!" rang into Octavio's ears, and with one last push toward the camera, the footage ended, and Octavio let out a very displeased gurgle.

"So he's still alive..." Octavio turned to his advisor. "Send a message to Octola", he ordered. "Tell Octammie to come see me as soon as she can. I have a special job for her."

"Sir...?" asked the advisor.

"She knew Octarla the best. She's the only one who can get this job done."

XxXxXxX

"This is definitely gonna scar, bucko... I knew you shouldn't have gone in there alone!"

Cliff winced as he put the antiseptic wipe over his cheek. The Captain had a first-aid kit ready when he arrived to drop off the zapfish. Upon further inspections, there were more burn marks on his body from his close call with Octostomp, but those were easy to fix in comparison. That didn't stop the old inkling from making a fuss over him though.

"Sorry, Cap'n..." Cliff said in a mumbled tone. "I thought I could handle it."

"Well, ya thought wrong!" the Cap'n said sternly. "What were you thinkin'? You've only dealt with Octotroops and Octoballs - small time stuff compared to the Octostomp! If I were to lose another..." The Cap'n's voice drifted off, and his fussing died down with a heavy sigh. "I can't lose another agent to this. Not again."

"Another agent?" Cliff asked, raising an eyebrow. He placed his hand on Cuttlefish's shoulder. "Cap'n, did you lose an agent before this?"

The older inkling nodded. "Yes, bucko... his name was Sorrel Gigas. He had promise, and like you, he preferred to use brush's over guns. Said that as long as he was fast, none of the troops could catch him." The captain chuckled. "He was coded as Agent Red, due to his natural color, and along with Agent Blue and Cyan, he got a lot of work done... but.."

"But what, Cap'n?" Cliff asked, gently coaxing the older inkling into talking. "What happened to Sorrel?"

"... he vanished", Cuttlefish finally said. "Left his wife and his daughter, and disappeared into Octo Valley. All that I found of him was his weapon. After that, both Agent Blue and Agent Cyan eventually retired for their own reasons, and... well, that was that."

Cliff gave a sigh. He knew the old man was probably worried about losing an agent like he did with Sorrel, but... there was a job to do.

"Cap'n... I signed up to help you find the zapfish", he said. "And right from the getgo, I knew it was dangerous. But I'm gonna stay and help as much as I can, even if I get crippled by this." He gave the old man a smile through his goggles. "I won't vanish like Sorrel... not when I have you covering my back."

The Cap'n looked up at Cliff, reading his expression, before slowly sighing, a small smile forming underneath his beard. "I'll keep you to it, Agent 3." He then pat Cliff's back. "You better git. And make sure to not tell anyone about Octostomp."

"Wasn't in the plan, Cap'n", Cliff said with a smile. He took a hold of his splintered brush, heading back to the manhole. "I'll be back in a couple days; I have something planned with a friend tomorrow."

"Don't matter, bucko", Cuttlefish said with a smile. "Take two if you need to. Those Octarians aren't going anywhere, and with the progress we made, we should be able to start building up our power source with a few more baby zapfish."

Cliff nodded, before going into the sewer to head for Inkopolis. In the meantime, a sudden thought hit him, and he bit his lip to keep from screaming in anger.

 _Now I need a new weapon for Turf War!_


	6. Cliff's Playdate

"What the SHELL did you do to your brush?!"

Cliff winced at the horse-shoe crab glaring at him. He was dreading this moment, but he knew that, sooner or later, he would have to come to Sheldon. "I wish I could tell you, I really do... but I just need a replacement."

"A replacement?!" Sheldon screeched, standing on the counter with the former Octobrush's bristles in his hand. "You'd be lucky to find anyone that will replace this broken mess! What did you do, drop a dumbbell on it?! That weighs 3 tons?!" Sheldon finally took a moment to calm down, sitting on the counter. "Cliff... I appreciate that you come in here enough for maintenance, but to suddenly bring in your brush like this and ask for a replacement... it would irresponsible of me to just hand you another one! How do I know you won't break the next one, as well?"

"Look, if you don't want to do it for me...", Cliff said, reaching into his pocket. Before he had left the Octostomp's lair, he did find something that he figured might interest Sheldon. "...then maybe you'll do it for some blueprints for the Splattershot Jr."

"Ha! I already build those things like a pro!"

"Well, how about with these blueprints, written by Ammoses Shellendorf?"

That immediately caught Sheldon's attention. "Wait, what? You found some of my grandpappy's blueprints?" Upon further examination of the blueprints, Sheldon couldn't help but let his jaw drop. "Where... how did you find these?"

"Trade secret, Sheldon", Cliff said. "It looks like they're blueprints for the original design of the Custom Splattershot Jr. Maybe you can use them to modify the base weapon a bit, make them more ink efficient or something?"

"I just might... Grandpappy was a genius when it came to weapons..." Sheldon said with a wistful sigh, remembering his grandfather with a fond smile. He then looked at Cliff, and gave a small sigh. "Alright... about that replacement..."

"Of course," Cliff said with a smirk. He won that negotiation. "Would you be willing to part with another Octobrush? I'm rather fond of the Kraken special, but not so much of the beacons I'm lumped with. I still love it, though."

"Have you tried any other inkbrush?" Sheldon suggested. "I know of a brush that has the same special, but uses Splat Bombs instead."

That caught Cliff's interest, and he eyed Sheldon behind his dark glasses. "... maybe I should take it for a test run..."

XxXxXxX

"So... Aurora..."

"If you wanna borrow an outfit, no."

"That's not what I was gonna ask", Marina said with a scowl. "I already have my outfit planned, and besides... yours are better suited for 'third date' material anyway."

The ebony-skinned inkling sighed, sitting up as she brushed a tentacle away from her face. Since Marina dumped Drake, she had been living with her friend in the spare bedroom Aurora had, and the two were nearly inseparable for a while. It was only thanks to Aurora's generosity that she had a nice place to live now, and Marina couldn't show how grateful she was.

But now was the day she had been looking forward to for a while; today, she was going to be hanging out with Cliff, the cool guitarist who saved her from the ass of a boyfriend, and managed to actually woo the girl over at their first interaction...

... but other than knowing he could play guitar (and she thought he was hot), she knew nothing about him.

"I need... advice", she told the ebony girl. "I don't have a lot of... experience, like you do."

"Girl, I have confidence, not experience", Aurora argued.

"Aurora, you introduce me to a new Inkling every other week. You have experience."

"... true", her friend conceded. "So, what do you need to know?"

"Cliff said he's not much of a people person", Marina said. "He's not like the crowds you and I hang with; he doesn't like going to clubs and really loud places, as far as I can tell. He said he's from Tentaton-"

"Tentaton?" Aurora asked, raising an eyebrow. "Where's that?"

"Not sure", Marina said, "but he told me that it was a quiet small town, with not a lot going on. He said his Uncle Cecil is a farmer, so I'm guessing it's out in the country." The pink inkling quickly shook her head, remembering the subject at hand. "Anyway, he told me that around there, girls don't wear miniskirts and tank tops like what I usually wear, so I figured something a little different."

"Knowing you, you probably picked out a casual top and the closest you could get to booty shorts without actually wearing booty shorts." Aurora smirked as the blush on Marina's face told her that she hit the nail on the head. "Well, if he's really from a quiet country town and not a big people person... he's probably very uncomfortable about this whole deal in the first place. You should try to find something that he'd enjoy doing."

"Well, what could that be?" she asked. "I don't know anything about him."

"Oh, ye of little observational skills", Aurora teased. "Next time, stop staring at his butt and look at the rest of him. He was holding an Octobrush last time we saw him, and he looked really tired. I'm gonna guess he's a hardcore Turf Battler, or even a Ranked Battler. He'll probably warm up to ya in no time if you battle him."

"Out of the question", Marina immediately denied. "You know what weapon I use. There's a reason why I don't go into the tower that much anymore."

"Well, give it a shot. How bad could it be?"

XxXxXxX

Needless to say, Cliff fell in love with the Permanent Inkbrush.

With the weapon's lighter frame, it was easier to run around on the field. Sure, the trail was smaller, so that meant he'd have a harder time running through enemy ink, but the speed more than made up for it. And with the PermaBrush (as he started to call it) using less ink for the main weapon, that meant that he had more for the Splat Bombs and some actual range, rather than being stuck with Squid Beacons draining an entire tank of ink and being stuck recharging. Sure, the bombs took up a good chunk of his ink, but all in all, he felt better about this combination.

Plus, the prospect of surprising people with a Kraken made him a bit giddy.

In order to replace his brush, he did have to shell out quite a few coins, but in the end, it was worth it. Now he had a new weapon for turf wars and a style he enjoyed much better than the standard Octobrush, and with that stress off his shoulders, he was more than ready to get back to those missions Cuttlefish had in store for him.

Or... so he wanted to be.

The truth of the matter was that earlier today, he had agreed to meet up with Marina to "hang out", as she had put it. The big, red flag that was going up for Cliff wasn't about her... but himself. He didn't have any friends growing up, so socializing was very difficult for him. The most interaction he had with anybody who wasn't his family was the clerk down at the farmer's market, since, once he got old enough, he was the one sent for groceries. And the guy was much older than him.

He had no idea how to interact with inklings his own age.

"This is bad", he muttered to himself. "She's a social butterfly, and I'm the lone wolf. This is gonna end badly. I mean... what could we do?" He looked over at the tower instinctively, but quickly shook his head. "No... I don't want to make her hate me."

Before he could think of something to do, that was when he heard her call out. "Sorry to keep you waiting!" The voice seemed a bit muffled, and when he turned to face her, he found out why. She was wearing a gas mask over her face, as she lugged a big bag over her shoulder. He noted she was wearing an Urchins jersey and neon yellow sea slugs, as well, a combination he saw a lot in the Inkopolis Tower.

"I didn't wait long", he said, silently relieved that she showed up before he drove himself crazy. "So… what's with the battle gear?"

"Well, I realized that you and I don't really know a lot about each other", Marina commented, removing the gas mask to look him in the eye as she smiled a bit. "Aurora mentioned the brush you had with you last time and that maybe you liked battling. So, I thought that maybe we could do some battles first, you know? So that we aren't awkward around each other."

"I appreciate that", Cliff said, mentally sighing in relief. "I... honestly had no idea of what we were gonna do." He then looked at her bag. "So... what kind of weapon do you use?"

At that, Marina lowered her gas mask. "You're gonna have to wait and see." She motioned to the tower. "Come on; Walleye Warehouse isn't in the rotation, so maybe we can use it for a private battle!"

"Private battle?" he asked. "Shouldn't we be trying some normal Turf Wars or something…?"

"Are you used to that brush yet?" she countered, pointing to the Permanent Ink Brush on his back. "That's not the one I saw last time we saw each other. Besides; this way, we can get used to playing with one another."

Cliff shrugged, following behind her. What was the worst that could happen?

XxXxXxX

A lot, actually.

It turns out that Marina was a very strong girl, as her weapon was a Hydra Splatling. And she knew how to use it. Cliff had been splatted three times now, and was unable to even get close to her. Even with the speed, she simply saw him way too quickly for him to react.

But he could get slightly closer to her before she would massacre his face every time, so, that was an upside.

The private battle ended with him only able to surprise her once, throwing a splat bomb as he exploded to take out his opponent. The end score was irrelevant, but compared to the one time he was able to splat her, the 12 times she was able to splat him were significantly more impressive.

After that private battle, he stepped outside, slightly dazed, while Marina removed her gas mask, frowning deeply. Had she overdone it again? She knew that when it came to battling, she was highly competitive… or, "kill-thirsty" as some players called it. That was why she never got far in ranked mode; people hated playing against her due to her aggressive playing.

"Um… I'm sorry if I pushed too hard", she said, tentatively standing behind him. "I… I understand if you don't want to- "

That was when he suddenly burst into loud laughter, bending over to keep himself from falling over. The sound was startling, as she had never seen a trace of emotion from him before (besides anger when he had been kicking Drake's ass), and she couldn't help but stare in shock and confusion as he laughed hard. Finally, Cliff stood up straight, wiping his eyes behind his shades.

"Holy crap, that was fun!" he said, smiling brightly as he turned to her. "I've never had anyone give me so much trouble before! I got my ass handed to me!" He let out a chuckle. "The last time I got beaten so badly was when Ma forced me to learn how to use the Octobrush the first time!"

That laugh was unexpected, but it was a pleasant surprise for Marina. She couldn't help the shy smile that formed on her face. _Even his laugh is hot_ , she thought to herself. "Well, thank you," she said, giving him a small curtsey. "I'm surprised, though; not a lot of people like the fact that a Hydra splatted them so many times."

"Are you kidding?" Cliff said, raising an eyebrow. "You have to be pretty tough to even carry one of those things; they're heavy as hell and need precision aiming to get anything done. You mess up even a little bit with a Hydra, you're splatted."

Marina gave a pleased grin. He was a lot more understanding than she thought. "Well, if you wanna go another round, I'd be more than happy to."

"Nah, I don't wanna force you to battle all day", Cliff declined. "How about we head back to my place? I can play some guitar for you, since you said that you thought I was cool last time you saw me playing."

Unfortunately for Cliff, after the words "my place", Marina's attention was lost, as a fantasy began playing in her head. "Y-your p-p-place?" she whispered, her face slowly turning bright red.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, moving a bit closer to her. "You're starting to turn red… maybe we shouldn't head back there, and get you home instead."

"N-n-nah, I'm f-f-f-f-fine", Marina attempted to argue, but the stuttering and her rosy cheeks had Cliff convinced otherwise. In the end, she spent the rest of the day kicking herself for letting her mind wander to the gutter too early.

XxXxXxX

"Cap'n, I'm back! Ready for the next mission, sir!"

"Ah, good, good!" Cuttlefish said, walking out of his tiny shack. "I'm glad you're here, Agent 3!" He motioned for the red inkling to come closer. "I have something for you!"

"You… you do, sir?" he asked, walking over.

"Well, you did lose your Octobrush when you fought Octostomp a few days ago", the Cap'n explained, reaching behind the door of his home. He then pulled out a long, skinny object. "Figured it'd probably be best if you use one of mine from now on."

Cliff's eyes grew wide and his jaw almost hit the floor in an instant. The object Cuttlefish had pulled out was a sleek and unique brush the boy had never seen before. Much like the Hero Shot he had used in his first mission, it was primarily black with blue lights glowing at certain parts. The handle curved slightly, giving him a comfortable grip on the weapon, and the bristles themselves were held firmly in place by a yellow connector, looking like some durable metal he had never seen before. "Is… is that…?"

"A Hero Brush", the captain confirmed. "Or, at least, a prototype. This belonged to Agent Red before… well, I thought it only fit that you used it." He handed the weapon to Cliff, letting him get a feel for it. "After all, it's because of this work that you lost your Octobrush."

"Well… I appreciate it, Cap'n", Cliff said, giving the brush a few test swings. "But, you said it's only a prototype…"

"That's because I never got enough data to build the real deal", Cuttlefish explained. "The only ones that I have built to perfection right now are the Hero Shot, Hero Roller, and Hero Charger. Those were the only ones Shellendorf left for me to use. I don't know anyone who could build them like that ever again, especially without proper blueprints."

 _I can think of a certain horseshoe crab that would jump at the opportunity_ , Cliff thought, but he kept that to himself. "It feels really good, Cap'n… I can probably move way faster with this than with the Octobrush… hell, probably even faster than a Permanent Inkbrush."

"Then you know what you can use that brush for, bucko", the Cap'n said, grinning under his scruffy beard.

Cliff only grinned, tightening his grip on the brush. "Those Octarians won't even know what hit them."


	7. Octoling Alarm

**I'm really sorry this one took so long... I got stuck at the beginning and had to rewrite it like three times before I was satisfied with what I got. Hope y'all like it!**

 **XxXxXxX**

"So... this next kettle contains a simulation of Kelp Dome in there?"

After returning to his missions, Cliff was glad to get back into a routine. He came in to help Cap'n Cuttlefish whenever he could, and usually did one mission a day, just to help build up Inkopolis' power storage and bring more systems back online. With the few hospitals regaining their zapfish and the main radio tower in the plaza now back online, it was only a matter of time before businesses all over the city would once more reopen their doors. So far, he had managed to save seven baby zapfish in total, so that meant he was well on his way in the short amount of time he had been working for the Captain.

Right now, Cuttlefish was briefing him on his next mission. "Right, bucko. No doubt, it's a training ground for the elite members of the Octarian Army so that, should the Octo weapons all be reactivated, they don't get splatted within five minutes in the upcoming invasion. With our speed, though, it should be only a matter of a month before we have figured out where the Great Zapfish is being held."

"Sounds like a plan", Cliff said, smirking. He looked over at his weapon, the prototype Hero Brush. He was right in his prediction; the Hero Brush was much lighter than the PermaBrush and allowed him to zoom around much faster. Of course, he was faster than the captain expected; thanks to his training with his mother, he was much faster than most other inklings. He'd probably only fall off of a ledge if he wasn't paying attention. "I'll have that zapfish out of there in no time... and hopefully that'll be enough to get the recording studio near Inkopolis Plaza to open up and let me get back to it."

The Cap'n's interest was piqued, as he raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're into recording?"

"Yeah, I play music", Cliff said, adjusting his goggles. "I'm the best with guitar, but I taught myself some basics for drums, bass, and a little bit of keyboard so I can write my own songs."

"Really? I'd love to hear it sometime", the Cap'n offered.

That made Cliff chuckle a bit. "I don't think you'd like it, Gramps", he said. "I'll catch you in a bit." He quickly started moving, making his way across the ink-rail to the next kettle. All the while, the elderly inkling blinked in surprise, watching the red kid go.

"... 'Gramps'?"

XxXxXxX

Cliff arrived at the first spawn point, looking around. Just like the Cap'n said, the area looked like an exact replica of Kelp Dome, one of Cliff's least favorite stages. If it weren't for the monitor-lined sky, he would have thought he somehow ended up in the real deal; even the plants looked very convincing, but on closer look, it seemed that they were made of fibers and plastic.

 _"Uh oh, Bucko... we got company"_ , the Cap'n suddenly said. _"I'm picking up a lot of activity on the motion sensors; you got a lot of enemies looking for you."_

"I think I can handle a few Octo-troops and Octo-copters, Cap'n", Cliff said, placing the bristles of his brush on the ground. "None of them are fast enough to keep up with me."

 _"That may be the case... but you're up against a squad of Octolings."_

That made Cliff's blood run cold, and he quickly backed up, having taken his first step forward. "O-Octolings?" he asked. "You mean... turn-into humanoids-like-us Octolings?"

 _"Yep"_ , the Cap'n confirmed. The red inkling imagined the old man nodding curtly at that. _"I've been keeping up with their radio chatter recently. Ever since you took out the Octostomp, the Octolings have been on high alert and ready to jump in and try to take you down. I was hoping they wouldn't catch up to you so quickly, but... well, it's now or never, Agent 3."_

 _Easy for you to say_ , Cliff thought bitterly as he slipped through the grate and placed his brush down again. _You probably won't feel guilty as hell because you weren't raised by an Octoling..._ He kept his silence as he began sneaking forward, keeping his brush against the ground to leave a trail and give him a chance to retreat if things got dicy. He slowly peaked around the first corner he saw, looking over at his enemy.

He knew that the Octolings of Octavio's army had a standard color, but to him, it was odd seeing them as the dark red they were. His mother was a defector, so her tentacles eventually reverted to a dark purple, but that didn't mean she wasn't one of them once. The metallic goggles covering their eyes reminded him of himself... though he was certain that there was some sort of secret tech behind those glowing, purple eyes... or they were used to defend from enemy ink and keep them from being blinded. Though he did have to question why the metal breast-plates offered so little protection. If they were fighting, shouldn't they at least cover up more skin?

 _"What do you see, Agent 3?"_ Cuddlefish asked, causing Cliff to jump a bit as he placed his hand on his headphones.

"One Octoling", he responded, whispering so she wouldn't pick up on his voice. "She's by herself, but she's blocking my only way forward; even if I manage to sneak over and climb onto the catwalks, she can still shoot me down before I can get past her."

 _"Well, you have two options here, bucko"_ , Cuddlefish mused. _"You can either stop and fight her and splat her before she makes a call for her allies... or you can run past her and pray you can make it over to the next spawn point before she shoots you down."_

Both of those options weren't exactly ideal. On the one hand, he didn't want to fight her; Cliff definitely had a bias, since he was raised by one of them. On the other hand, his mother had told him she used to be ruthless when fighting the agents of her day, and this one would no doubt be the same, hunting him down until either he was dead or he could escape with the zapfish.

However, he soon got an idea. He was usually limited to one bomb type whenever he was in turf wars, but the seekers the Cap'n had provided him with could be helpful if he could keep them from targeting the Octolings. He only had five, so he had to make them count. "How many Octolings do you see on the map, Cap'n?"

 _"I heard that three squads were coming down, and usually these are two-manned missions. So, more likely than not, there are six Octolings in total."_

"Then let's hope that they get distracted by something shiny", he muttered, pulling out a seeker. He flicked a switch on it, keeping it from locking onto any specific targets. Then, he placed the bomb on the ground, and it zoomed off, catching the eye of the Octoling. She let out a snarl, starting to follow it. He could hear her speaking aloud, but he couldn't hear what she said, and he certainly didn't want to find out. While she was distracted, he placed his brush down, zooming down the line and breaking off to pass the middle structure where all the catwalks met.

Only to hear a shrill and angry howl. "I SEE HIM! THE INKLING'S OVER HERE!"

 _SHRIMP_ , Cliff cursed silently, pumping his legs harder. He zoomed towards the next spawn point, lighting it up as he dove inside and refilled his ink quickly. He heard the bullets flying around him, and the telltale whistle of a splat bomb soaring through the air, but so far he hadn't gotten hit.

"He's on the north side! Heading to you, Octana!" called out the Octoling chasing him.

"I see him", said another Octoling, hissing. "He won't get past- wait, he's shorter than the normal agents... how old is Cuddlefish getting if he's sending children after us now?!"

"Doesn't matter! Splat him now, or Octavio will have our heads!"

 _They know who's commanding me... double shrimp!_ Cliff thought, laying down another seeker. This time, he dove into the ink trailing behind it, following the bomb down it's path. When it exploded against a wall, he quickly dove out, flicking a bunch of ink onto the ground before diving in again. While the two Octolings started shooting in the wrong corners, hoping to get him, he jumped out, dashing towards the enemy spawn base.

A couple more angry screeches filled his ears, and he knew that two more Octolings had joined the chase. If he didn't make it now, he was going to get splatted right then and there. Quickly, he pulled out a burst bomb, and without even thinking, threw it at the ink-rail system, lighting it up and allowing him to climb up to the platform with the zapfish. Before he could start to tear apart the shield, though, a hand gripped his ankle, and he looked down, seeing a very angry Octoling trying to pull him away from it.

"Oh, no you don't, you little brat!" the Octoling hissed, glaring at him behind her mask. "We've already lost too much to you! We need that zapfish!"

"Then you should've rented it out", Cliff quipped back, hiding his fear behind his silver tongue. With a couple of kicks, he managed to pull his leg loose, forcing the Octoling off of him and making her fall on her butt on the ledge below. A quickly placed burst bomb effectively destroyed the shield, and he snatched the zapfish.

Almost as quickly as they started chasing him, the enemy stopped, all glaring at him behind their metallic masks. One in particular, an older Octoling with her tentacles hanging lower to the ground, clicked her tongue a bit. "Back off, girls... let him go."

"Let him go?!" one of the others cried, pointing her gun at Cliff. "After all the trouble we went to chasing him here?!"

"Yes, because if you don't, you might hit the ZAPFISH", the older Octoling said. "And I'm pretty sure Octavio would love to hear about us killing a zapfish in our efforts to catch one squid. We have enough problems to deal with without that risk." She turned to the others, forcing them to stand down. She then turned back to Cliff, glaring. "You got lucky this time, Inkling... but you better hope you don't run into any of us again."

"Well, now what are we supposed to do?" the defiant Octoling said. "Octavio will kill us for letting him go!"

"You're right. He will", the leader said. "Unless we tell him we lost one while chasing the inkling."

That made the defiant one pause. "Huh? But... we didn't lose any-"

 **SPLOOSH**.

That was when the defiant Octoling burst into a puddle of purple ink, her body suddenly torn apart by the torrent. The leader lowered her Octoshot, glaring at the others. "Insubordination will not be tolerated, girls! Do I make myself clear?!"

The others gulped, and nodded, backing away a bit.

Cliff blanched a bit, and it took everything to keep from throwing up his lunch. "Y-you... you just killed your own teammate!"

"Oh relax, shortie, she's not dead", the older Octoling said, grinning and showing off her very sharp teeth. "She'll respawn... in a day or two. Gotta love the limitations of our tech, right? You inklings respawn in seconds thanks to your 'high tech checkpoints'. But us? No, she'll be spending a few days slowly... painfully rebuilding her body back at home base." Her grin faded, as she pointed her gun up at him. She wouldn't be able to hit him, but her point was coming across nicely. "Next time.. it'll be an inkling I splat."

XxXxXxX

The mission definitely shook up Cliff. He returned back to the Cap'n, dropping off the terrified baby Zapfish before silently heading back. The sight of the older Octoling shooting her underling and splatting her replayed in his mind endlessly. And the vicious, gleeful grin as she did it haunted him for the remainder of the day; he couldn't even go to Inkopolis Tower to get any ranked battles in. He stayed at home, silently keeping himself busy with either cleaning up his apartment, watching television, or eventually cooking dinner.

After running out of things to do, Cliff finally started processing everything that happened. He lay down in bed, staring at his ceiling as he thought about the mission. _So that's what Octolings are like, huh?_ he thought, furrowing his brow. They were certainly much more aggressive than the other octarian soldiers he had faced down before; not even Octostomp was quite as vicious.

He thought back to his days training with his mother, back when he was still unable to assume a fully-humanoid form. She trained him ruthlessly, not only with the brush she had given him, but also in hand to hand combat, endurance, speed - anything and everything she thought he would need in the future. Of course, she knew little about Inkopolis besides what she had heard while growing up in Octo Valley, but she learned as much as she could from Uncle Cecil and Aunt Lydia. And she thought teaching him how to fight outside of Turf Wars would help him in the long run.

That wasn't the focus of his thoughts, though. He remembered, when he was five, a pink boy had called his mother a monster. He wanted to throttle that squid back then, but now, looking back, he could see why people saw Ursula that way. Many times, during their training, she seemed to lose herself. Her smile became more giddy the more she fought, and a sinister gleam entered her eyes every now and then as she trained him. She even referred to him as 'new meat' a few times when she beat him particularly bad. Eventually, though, she'd catch herself, and frequently apologized to him when she realized how rough she was being. He never blamed her; fighting for years in an army you had no choice but to be a part of would do that to you over time.

 _That's what she used to be,_ Cliff thought, closing his eyes. _A side of her she kept secret for so long... she tried really hard not to be seen like a monster._ He rolled over, reaching over to his end table and turning off the light. _Since she raised me... deep inside, am I like her? Could I be just as vicious and cruel as those Octolings I fought today?_

For a moment, that was the end of the thought process. He lay silently, slowing his breath, ready for his dreams to come and take him to blissful sleep. However, his brain began racing. Words popped up in his head, one after another, and soon, suddenly, it was like a light was flicked on. Both figuratively and literally. He was suddenly out of bed, turning his light back on and racing to his desk. He grabbed a pen, writing on paper.

 _The secret side of me I never let you see_

 _I keep it caged but I can't control it_

 _So stay away from me, the beast is ugly_

 _I feel the rage and I just can't hold it_

 _It's scratching on the walls, in the closet, in the halls_

 _It comes awake and I can't control it_

 _Hiding under the bed, in my body, in my head_

 _Why won't somebody come and_

 _Save me from this, make it end?_

XxXxXxX

"I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin!

I must confess that I feel like a monster!

I hate what I've become! The nightmare's just begun!

I must confess that I feel like a monster!"

Two inklings, one purple and one orange, stared through the window into Cliff's rented studio, watching as the red inkling sang loudly into his microphone, watching as he strummed his guitar in perfect sync to the drums and bass in the background. "How long has he been at it?" the orange one asked.

"A few hours", the purple one said, scratching the back of his head. "Once he found out we were open again, he was the first one in and immediately booked this room. He's even been using rental instruments to record the drums and bass tracks..."

"Whoa, you mean he did all of this?" The orange inkling rubbed his chin. "That's some talent."

"Yeah, but the real skill is his guitar and voice", the purple inkling said. "... though he looks kinda tired, doesn't he?"

"Yeah... gotta admit, he looks really cool..."

Finally, Cliff stopped singing and playing, holding his breath as he went to the soundboard and stopped the recording. Once he was certain it wouldn't be captured, he began coughing, covering his mouth as his throat forced him to recover from the singing. He wasn't expecting, however, to hear a couple pairs of hands clapping as his coughing died down, and he turned, seeing the two boys clapping for him. He placed his own hand behind his head, scratching a bit.

"That was really cool, dude!", the pruple inkling said. "Amazing song!"

"Yeah, that was great!", the orange one confirmed. "But I gotta wonder, why didn't you record with your bandmates?"

Cliff blinked. "Um... I'm by myself right now. I don't have any bandmates..."

"You don't? Aw, man!" the purple one said. "I was hoping you were getting something done for your band so that you could play a live event... I'd pay good cash to see that."

"I'm not that good", Cliff denied. "I mean, I used to be in one, and they weren't all that good, so that's why I left... but I'm not good enough to hold live concerts."

"Trust me, mate, you're that good", the orange inkling said, with a thumbs up. "Tell you what; if you need to find some people to play with, you can count on us to find some people for you!"

Cliff blinked again, adjusting his shades to keep his eyes hidden. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm good." He packed up his guitar, and burned the song to a cd to take home with him. "Thanks for letting me play here. See ya."

As Cliff walked home, a small glimmer of hope entered his eyes. _They actually like my music..._


	8. A New Bloom

**Holy hell, it has been a while since I started typing this one...**

 **I'm sorry this took so long. I hit massive writer's block, and couldn't finish anything I tried to continue. However, I'm glad to finally be done with this one... it's about time to move on to the next boss of Splatoon and get more work done.**

 **XxXxXxX**

He couldn't hear anything outside of his little world. All that he heard was the dull, muffled pounding of his own feet as he ran, and the sound of music from his earbuds. The riffs on the guitar, the beat of the drums, the steady thrum of the bass... that was all he needed while he ran.

Despite having a fairly busy schedule nowadays, Cliff did try to find time to keep up with his exercise. Granted, his work as an Agent and the days he spent in Ranked Battles did keep him fit, but on days where he didn't have anything in particular to do, it was good to keep a little active. Today, he was running his usual path in Jelly Fields, a large public park that was open to everyone for any reason. The sun wasn't very high in the sky yet, so the cool air was welcome against his arms and legs. His sleeveless tank top was soaked in sweat, as he'd been running for an hour, taking intermissions to slow down and catch his breath every now and then.

Of course, this wasn't only for him to work out and get his heart pumping; Cliff also did a lot of thinking when he was walking or running. Especially, more recently, about his job as an Agent and his possible music career. On the one hand, he was not expecting to live for too long; the life of an agent was dangerous, if the disappearance of Agent Red meant anything. He could very likely be killed while on a mission, and his mother would be beside herself with grief. But Inkopolis needed someone to get the Zapfish back, and if he wasn't qualified for it, who the hell was?

On the other hand, if he did survive, he'd likely never be asked to work as an agent again if he requested. He could work on his music career. Those two inklings that complimented his skill at the studio the other day had set something off in him; before, music was more of a hobby. But now that he knew people enjoyed and would be willing to pay for his music... was it possible for him to make an actual career out of it? Could he keep writing songs, and get into the same territory that some big names had been holding onto for years, like the Squid Sisters? Or Turquoise October? Could he make it into the unforgiving industry and actually live the dream life?

 _I feel like I'm as old as the Cap'n_ , Cliff suddenly thought, _shaking his head. Here I am, worrying about how my life might end soon, and what I should be doing with it instead. The Octolings are a viable threat, but the Octarians themselves? They're mainly just a joke. Besides Octostomp, I haven't really seen anything too threatening. I'll just finish this work as an Agent, and then, with Inkopolis safe again, I can probably do whatever I want. And at the rate I'm going... it'll only be about three weeks before I'll have returned all the baby Zapfish and hopefully figured out where they took the Great Zapfish, too._

At this point, he stopped underneath a tree, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a huge swig. He was about to go back to running and thinking when movement caught the corner of his eye. A familiar pale-and-pink inkling was jogging up to him, with a dark-skinned cyan inkling in tow. Aurora and Marina were both wearing workout clothes as well, with Aurora wearing what was essentially a black sports bra and grey sweatpants, while Marina was wearing a tight yellow tanktop and pink shorts that hugged her hips a bit too much.

 _Think about dying later, Cliff... you've got company_ , he told himself, ready to speak to them... until he realized he wasn't wearing his sunglasses. The red inkling cursed silently to himself; he almost never went anywhere without something to cover his eyes, but with the fact that no one else is usually in Jelly Fields at this time of day, he was certain he would've been fine without them. Now they were going to see his eyes and think him a freak, just like everyone else.

 _Let them find out now. They would've seen them sooner or later._

"Man, do you run fast!" Aurora panted, catching up as she bent over, heaving as she tried to catch her breath. "I knew you were fast with a brush, but how the shell are you so fast without that thing?!"

"Years of training", Cliff said, smirking a bit. "Ma didn't want me to be a regular Splattershot Jr. when I made my debut, so she trained me since I was 8 to be a brush battler."

"I can see that", Marina said, smiling at him. Unlike Aurora, she didn't seem as worn out. "When we battle together, you use a lot of advanced techniques that no newbie could know." The two had made it a thing to have regular private battles; Cliff wanted more practice against Hydra Splatlings, and Marina... well, she just wanted more time with Cliff (not that he needed to know that).

"Why thank you", Cliff said with a slightly cheeky smile. Marina gave a smile as well, but suddenly she paused. She was looking at his eye... or at least, that's what he thought. He had changed his "hairstyle" so that he had one large tentacle hanging in front of his left eye, while he had two long, skinny ones hanging behind his head, trailing down to just below his shoulder blades.

This is the part where she notices how weird my eyes are, he thought. She'll be polite about it, but she'll find an excuse to vanish and never come back. Then I'll be able to focus only on the missions.

"How did you get that scar?"

The words caught him off guard, and he instinctively ran his finger along the mark. The screams of Octostomp reverberated in his memories, and the stinging pain of the splinter piercing his skin came to mind. But he couldn't say anything about that; he thought up a story quick, praying it wouldn't cause more questions.

"Well, when you live in the country, you try to find some fun", he said smoothly, despite his rapidly beating heart. "I was playing on my Uncle Cecil's clam farm, and one of them was a bit ornery and jumped onto my back. I lost my balance and ended up cutting myself on a sharp rock. Wasn't fun, going to see the doc about that."

Marina frowned. She couldn't see the red inkling as clumsy or anything of the like, but then again, he was probably very different when he was a kid. She shrugged, while Aurora winced. "Ooh, sounds like it probably hurt." She walked over, taking a hold of his face with her hands while she gave a smirk. "But enough about that scar, brush boy. What I wanna know is why were you hiding those eyes?"

"M-my eyes?" Cliff asked, flustered. No one ever grabbed his face before... besides his mom, but that was usually when he was in trouble.

"Yes, your eyes! I've never seen a vibrant silver color before!" Aurora actually leaned in closer. "Ooh, and those pupils... you have beautiful eyes!" She turned to the silently fuming Marina, making sure to keep a good grip on Cliff's blushing cheeks. "Come here and get a closer look!"

Marina did oblige (begrudgingly), and her jaw dropped once she could see his eye clearly. "Oh my gosh, she's right!" She actually slipped her hands up, taking a hold of the boy's face and brushing the large tentacle aside so she could see both eyes. "Cliff, you really do have... pretty.." That was when what she did caught up with her, and now her mind went blank as she stared into his eyes... his silver, hypnotizing... what was she doing again?

"Girl, if you're gonna kiss him, I can give you both some privacy", Aurora said, grinning smugly as the pinkette immediately backed off, taking her hands back faster than if she had reached to grab a hot plate. Cliff, meanwhile, blinked rapidly, the very tips of his ears turning the same red color as his hair. He wasn't sure what to make of this.

Did they both just say that I have pretty eyes? he questioned in his head. Did they both just say they like my eyes? Why aren't they scared?! What the shell?!

Aurora noticed the slight color on his ears, and put on a knowing smirk. He probably wasn't used to stuff like that... and now she knew a weakness of his. Good to know for later. "So, moving on from the eyes bit... I haven't had a good chance to get to know you personally." She pointed to the earbud that was still playing music. "Like what kind of music you're listening to. Marina mentioned you used to be in a rock band?"

The mention of his old band brought Cliff back down to earth, and he cleared his throat, still flustered a bit. "Yeah... I play the guitar a bit. I'm nothing special, though."

"Nothing special?" Marina asked, butting in. "Drake freaked over that song you were playing. What was it called again? 'Through the Storm and the Rain?'"

"Well... yeah, there's that... but that's the only song where I can keep that kind of speed."

"Question", Aurora said, raising her hand suddenly. "What's so special about that song?"

"Well, the song was done by a band called Krakenforce", Cliff explained. "Basically, they wrote a song that takes fifteen minutes to play, with a lot of complex finger placements to play the notes on electric guitars. Hell, the song is so long, that they need two lead guitarists to play all the solos they wrote. Then, once it was recorded... they sped it up, so it's done in 7 minutes."

"And... which version do you play?" Marina asked.

"I practiced for a few years to learn how to play it at the sped-up tempo", Cliff eventually admitted. "It took a long time, but now I have the muscle memory to-"

"That is AWESOME!" Marina suddenly shouted, cutting him off. "Drake sounded impressed, but I had no idea! We missed half of it that day, so I only heard the second half, but now I get it! You were playing that song for seven minutes?!" Then she noticed the odd looks she was getting from Aurora and Cliff before settling back down where she was, flushing a bit as she shifted her weight against the tree.

"So, mister Hotshot", Aurora said, turning back to Cliff. "Wrote any songs yourself?"

That was when Cliff felt a bit of shame. He did write songs, like Monster and a few others, but he couldn't really bring himself to try and advertise. The term "you are your own worst critic" was very true to him, and while he did often put his songs onto a site to sell them, he always felt he could improve on his songs.

"I'm sure you did", Marina pushed a bit. "You did say something you didn't like about Drake's band was that there were no original songs. You wrote a few, right?"

"W-Well... a few", the red inkling finally conceded. "I taught myself some basic drumming and keyboard skills so I could play all the instruments, and did record a few... but... well.."

"You think they stink, right?" Aurora said. "I don't think it's fair that you get to judge your own music."

"But I'm not good with other instruments", Cliff insisted. "If you girls heard it-"

"Well, you won't know what we think until we actually hear one of your songs", Aurora countered. "Come on, we're friends, aren't we?" She turned to Marina. "You're interested too, right?"

Marina blushed at the spotlight being put on her, but she nodded. "I do wanna hear you play a bit more..."

Cliff looked at both girls, and knew he wasn't going to win this battle. With a reluctant sigh, he used his squid phone to look up the site he sold his tunes on and handed the earbuds to them. "None of them are that good, but if you have to listen to one of them... I'd recommend Monster."

Since he was the owner of the song, he was able to play the whole song for them. He handed Aurora and Marina his earbuds, letting them hear the entire bit. He knew he had made some mistakes during the other instruments; drums and keyboard were not easy for him, and despite the similarities, a bass guitar wasn't something he was comfortable with. It took several hours for him to record something he thought could pass as music, and he was mostly driven by adrenaline when he recorded Monster.

The girls were quiet for a while, glancing over at him every now and then, before glancing back at each other. They were quiet for the entire song, listening to all of it. Once his work ended, they handed him back the earbuds, still quiet.

"Let me guess", he said, wrapping up his headphones in his hand. "It sucked."

Marina blinked, before starting to grin. "You squidding me? That was AWESOME!"

"It's not my kind of music, but that was really rad", Aurora agreed, nodding. "You can really feel the passion you put into your music. It's not something I can dance to, but I'm sure a lot of people would like it."

Cliff blinked. Hearing that his music was good from two random inklings at the recording station was one thing, but hearing that from people he knew - especially Marina - hit him a different way. For once, he felt... confident about his music. "Really?" he asked, not completely sure. "You both liked it?"

Aurora gave a curt nod. "Marina more than me, but yeah." Marina, meanwhile, nodded vigorously.

"You should have a band, seriously!" the pinkette commented, her eyes shining a bit. "I would totally come to every concert!"

"For more than one reason", the cyan inkling said softly, so that only Marina heard her (and glare in response).

Cliff couldn't help but feel his heart swell. People really did like his music? Maybe he had more of a chance than he thought. But a problem soon reared its ugly head. "I'd love to find a band... but I'm not good with people. And after what happened with Drake, I'd rather not join any group all willy nilly."

"Then all you need to do is hold auditions and be the band leader for once", Aurora suggested. "Just let me know when you have free time, and I'll get you some candidates. I know a few people that are looking for new gigs."

"These wouldn't happen to be people you've... dated before, would they?" Marina asked, raising an eyebrow. The way she put emphasis on the word "dated" made Cliff look to Aurora oddly.

"'Course not", the cyan inkling responded, waving a hand dismissively. "I have friends, too. I don't focus on only trying to ask out everyone I see."

The red inkling raised an eyebrow as well, but shrugged. "Alright... I appreciate the offer." He put his earbuds back into his ears. "I'm gonna finish my jog and go home", he told them both. "Thanks for talking to me... and for listening to my song. You've given me a lot to think about." He started jogging, playing his music once more as Marina and Aurora both waved goodbye to him.

Once she was sure he was out of earshot, Aurora let out a groan. "Damn, the more I learn about him, the more I don't want to let you have him. Did you see how mysterious his eyes looked? I've never caught sight of any eyes like those before... colorwise or otherwise." When she didn't get a response from Marina, she turned, about to chew her out when she spotted the phone in the pinkette's hand. "... what are you doing?"

"Buying his album."

Aurora blinked, looking at her friend, before a warm smile formed on her face. Even when Marina had been dating Drake, she didn't seem this invested in anyone. It had been a long time since Aurora saw her put so much effort into anything, and now with Cliff in her life, Marina seemed to be turning into a more positive, energetic inkling. But how did he feel about her? Was it going to end well for the pinkette? Or would the crimson boy end up breaking her heart?

XxXxXxX

"Cliff? I didn't expect to see you here today. Is everything alright?"

The red inkling had headed for Octo Valley. He knew he wasn't supposed to be here, but he needed someone to talk to. Someone that wasn't too close to the situation... and wasn't his mother. She was probably busy with stuff at the farm, anyway; she was working with Cecil again during the busy time of the year.

"I know, Cap'n, but I need to ask for certain days off", he said. "I know I'm supposed to be helping collect the zapfish back... but I need to hold auditions."

"Auditions?" the older inkling said, leaning against his bamboo cane as he eyed Cliff curiously. "What kind of auditions?"

"Well... I'm trying to start a band", Cliff explained. "A rock band. And I need a day to hold auditions for other instruments."

At the word "band", Cuttlefish let out a grin underneath his beard. "That brings back memories", he said, smiling as he reminisced a bit.

"It... it does, sir?"

"Indeed, it does, bucko", Cuttlefish confirmed. He pulled up a beaten-up chair, sitting on it while Cliff moved to sit on a somewhat comfortable-looking rock. "My granddaughters have careers in the music world as well. When they first started, it was a real shock to the system, but I got used to seeing them working so hard for something they're passionate about. And now I can see they really enjoy what they do for a living." He then looked down at the red inkling, raising an eyebrow. "Is this something you're sure about? It's not an easy road to go down."

Cliff paused. He remembered hearing those words before, from his mother so long ago. It seemed like when he was a kid, he had plenty of time to think about what he wanted to do. But now, it was like he was suddenly thrown to the wolves.

The look of joy he saw on Marina's face as she told him how much she liked his music made him set his jaw, and he nodded.

"I wasn't until not too long ago... but I think I have what it takes", Cliff told the older inkling. "A couple of my friends listened to my music for the first time and said they'd love to see me in a concert. If I can make some people happy with my music... that's all I really need."

The Cap'n stared at the sunglasses Cliff wore on his face, trying to gauge a reaction. Finally, he leaned back in his chair, sighing. "Well, I suppose I can let you get to business... starting next Saturday."

Cliff's smile grew wide, and he stood up, bowing a bit. "Thank you so much, Gramps!" He gathered his things. "I'll need to get some paperwork done today while I still can, but I'll be back tomorrow to get back to work on the missions."

"Of course", Cuttlefish said with a knowing smile. As the boy was about to slip back into the sewer, he called out one more time.

"Oh, and I'm sure that girl who loves your music will be happy to hear the news, too!"

Cliff felt his ears turn red as he quickly turned into a squid, hiding his blush from the Cap'n.


	9. Loch-ing In the Drummer

"Carp, carp, carp, carp..."

Cliff had to dive to the side, avoiding a large ball of ink that was rolling at him. He glared at his adversary, gritting his teeth. "Ugh... why, oh why did I have to face you today, of all days?!" he grumbled. Of course, he got no response; without a proper mouth, the pilot driving Octonozzle had no way of communicating with the Inkling. Which was fine for him; he had nothing to say to them after the incident with Octostomp.

He watched the attacks that Nozzle was sending, peaking out from his shield and getting a read on how fast the inkballs were rolling. "Easy enough... Cap'n, how do I get this one to expose himself?"

" _Those suction cups on his body!_ " Cuddlefish responded. " _You see those bits sticking out underneath his head? Attack those until they pop, and then you can climb his head and attack the main body!_ "

Cliff watched Nozzle, looking for what the Cap'n was talking about, and saw the fleshy bits sticking out of little holes in the lower body of the metal tank. He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. "Y'know, Cap'n, it feels like for 'super destructive weapons', these things have really easy to exploit weaknesses..."

" _... the more I think about it, the more I realize yer right, bucko. Maybe we feared them a hundred years ago because it was in the middle of the Great Turf War when these things were revealed?_ "

Cliff just shook his head, before slapping his brush to the ground, speeding up and rushing the suction cups. "Not that I'm complaining, though; I gotta head back to the city as quickly as possible!" He managed to sweep around the bullets Octonozzle shot at him, soon getting close enough to the moat around the device. After quickly calculating the proper angle, he began flicking his inkbrush side to side, causing groans of pain as the suction cups burst into purple ink. Once they were gone, the "body" underneath nozzle's "head" collapsed, forcing the tentacle out of hiding and stunning the driver. Cliff then rushed up on top of the weapon, glaring at the tentacle.

"If I'm late for auditions, you slimy bastard, I'm taking it out on all of you!" he roared, slapping at the tentacle with rapid strokes from his brush. Soon, the tentacle burst, indicating the first use of the tentacle's spawn point as he jumped back. Cliff's tentacles began glowing once more, something the Cap'n silently noted.

"Alright, you nozzle-nose sucker!" Cliff yelled to the boss, who was glaring back down at him. The segmented body of the weapon had expanded, now revealing two layers of suction cups. In response, the agent smacked his brush down against the ground again, getting into his running stance. "Let's ROCK!"

XxXxXxX

" ** _Gg...gghh..._** "

"Hmm?" the old captain hummed, looking to the radio he had been using to aid Cliff. It suddenly gargled to life, so he was wondering who was trying to contact him. He picked it up, looking to find out who was talking, but instead heard more of that garbled voice.

" _ **Ggghhhh... Cut...tle...fish...**_ "

"Cap'n, is everything alright?" came Cliff's voice, and the old squid looked back at his protege, blinking in response. When no more sound garbled out of the transmitter he had, he shook his head.

"... I fear the radio transmitter may be malfunctioning somewhat", Cuttlefish responded, placing the radio back down. "Probably was going to happen sooner or later... it is rather old tech. At any rate, excellent work, Agent 3!" He hobbled over, clapping the boy on his shoulder. "At this rate, we'll be getting the Great Zapfish before the month is done!"

"Good thing", Cliff affirmed, starting to remove his agent gear. "The sooner we save the zapfish, the better."

"Couldn't agree with ya more, Bucko", the grizzled squid said. "So, ya heading back to hold more drummer auditions?"

"Yep. I didn't think it'd be this hard, but none of them can keep up with me", Cliff commented, putting the hero gear back on the hooks the captain provided. "I've been asking a couple guys at the studio I record at to try and find someone faster, but I've had no luck so far."

"Well, if you have a proper drummer, I'm guessin' you ain't rappin'", Cuttlefish commented. "Well, I guess I can let that slide... any fan of music is a friend of mine. I don't see genre."

That made Cliff pause, before slowly turning to the older squid. "... Cap'n... you like rap?"

The old squid gave a sly grin, a twinkle in his eye, before he raised his cane to his mouth, like a microphone.

"Call me Cap'n Cuttlefish, but not because I cuddle fish. Smooth like butta bet you wish that you could stunt a flow like this!"

The agent stared, slack-jawed as the old squid let out a short but on-point flow of rap, and soon couldn't help himself. He let out a snort before laughing hard, his eyes closing in his mirth. The old squid let out a squawk in surprise, before turning red, steam pouring out of his ears.

"Hey! Don't ya know it's disrespectful to laugh at yer elders?!" the captain shouted, smacking his cane on the ground in his anger.

"I-I'm sorry, Cap'n, but I... NEVER expected that!" Cliff said with a laugh, raising his hands in an 'I'm sorry' sort of way. He grabbed the rest of his gear, quickly putting it on as he managed to calm down. "You know, Cap... for a squid older than 100... you're pretty fresh."

The Cap'n beamed under his beard, before reaching over to pat Cliff's shoulder. "Darn tootin'. Now, git goin'. You got auditions, don't ya?"

"Right, right... hopefully this turns out okay", Cliff mused, putting on his sunglasses once more.

XxXxXxX

"This is NOT okay, dude!" said the third drummer he had auditioned today.

Cliff twitched an eyebrow. "Of course it's not okay, dude", he commented sarcastically. "First you show up fifteen minutes later than you said you would, you don't even bring a single pair of drumsticks, and you can't tell the difference between a hi-hat and a snare. Did you think you'd get hired based on your looks alone or something?"

The inkling in question, wearing a leather jacket, leather pants, and a crap-ton of stage makeup, shrugged. "I mean... I look the part, don't I?"

Cliff's right eye twitched underneath his shades. He eventually stood up, walking over and grabbing the punk by his collar, eliciting a yelp. His shades slipped on his nose, giving him a clear view of his eyes as he snarled. "Get. Out."

The poor kid paled considerably, before quickly collecting himself and running as fast as he could out of the studio. Cliff let out a sigh, adjusting his sunglasses again before walking back to the table he had borrowed, gathering the songs he had planned to use for auditions.

"This is pointless", he muttered. "First gal comes in and made a good effort, but she couldn't keep up with me on a medium tempo song. She needed more practice before she could even attempt to audition. Then the next jerk comes in and his tempo is all over the damn place, and he expected me to know when he was going to change the downbeat on a moment's notice. Then... ugh, this was a waste of time." He had all his papers gathered up, grumbling. "I'll post a note on the door that auditions are cancelled. I'll just keep releasing my songs on the site."

"Well, before you do that, can I take a crack at it?" Cliff couldn't help but jump a bit, before turning to the studio door. There was another inkling, around the same age as him, but that was where the similarities ended. This boy had a healthy tan about him, contrasting his pale green eyes. His pink tentacles were styled into a short faux hawk, giving a rocker vibe for sure. However, unlike most inkling's their age, he was well toned and even wider than most other inklings. What surprised Cliff was that he seemed almost as tall as the red inkling.

But the surprise faded, and Cliff sighed. "Let me guess... you're..." He took a look at his audition papers, going down to the fourth name on the list. "... Lochness Lagoon?"

"Just Loch works", the inkling said, pulling a pair of drumsticks out of a holster on the side of his hip (which Cliff had to admit was a huge plus). "I saw your ad last week, and figured I might as well give it a shot, right?"

Cliff hummed a bit, trying to decide if Loch was worth giving a shot. Deciding to at least give him a chance, he let out a breath. "Well... first thing's first, you at least know the names of the different parts, right?"

Loch raised an eyebrow, before nodding. He pointed at the pair of cymbals on a stand with a pedal. "Hi-hat", he said, before pointing to the big drum at the center of the set. "Base drum." He then pointed to other parts, listing them before Cliff waved his hand, accepting his answer. "Do people really come in not knowing what parts of their instrument are called?"

"You'd be surprised", Cliff said with a chuckle. "Last idiot that came in didn't even bring his own drumsticks like I asked."

"Ouch... I can see why you're frustrated then", the drummer commented, before sitting down at the stool by the set. "So, what do you want me to play?"

"Well, I need to make sure you can keep up with me, so I'll be playing with you", Cliff stated, grabbing the list of songs. He handed it over. "Just pick what you want and we'll see how well you can keep at it."

However, without even looking at it, Loch dropped the list, smirking. "How about... instead of that, you pick your fastest song you can play? I know a lot of 'em, and even if I don't know a song, I can pick up on the beat pretty quickly."

That made Cliff pause. Immediately, his thoughts went to the song he had spent years of his life mastering. "Are you sure? I can play... pretty damn fast, dude."

"Then do it, man", Loch said, spinning a drumstick. "No holding back."

Cliff gave a sigh. "Well... I guess this is make-it-or-break-it, right?" He walked over, plugging in his guitar to the amp, and doing a quick check to make sure it was in tune. "You ready?"

"Just get started man!" Loch said with a grin. "I can handle anything you can dish out!"

However, that grin quickly vanished when he recognized the beginning of the song, and realized how fast and hard he would have to play to keep up with "The Storm and the Rain."

"... oh carp."

XxXxXxX

Loch panted heavily, his drumsticks dropping from his hands. He was drenched in sweat, practically gasping for air as he let his body go limp on his chair. Cliff stared at the drummer, a twinge of regret hitting him. Now he overdid it, and possibly scared off the best potential he had for a drummer in the band.

"Hey... look, man, I'm sorry if I overdid it", Cliff offered, giving a reluctant breath through his nose as he placed his guitar back on the stand. "I've been... well, having problems with people getting mad at me for holding back, so when you said to let loose... well-"

That was when Loch shot up, gripping his half-broken drum-stick tightly. "Are you kidding?! That was badass! I've never met anyone who can play that song all the way through!"

"Yeah, I tend to get that a lot", Cliff said with a nervous smile. "So... does that mean you're staying?"

"Again, you've got to be kidding!" Loch said, slapping a hand on the red inkling's shoulder. "As if you could get rid of me now that I know what you can do! If anyone can take us to the top, it's you, man! What's your name? What's the name of the band?"

Cliff blinked, before giving a smile, offering his hand. "Cliff Ulu... but the band doesn't have a name yet. I figured we could get to that once we actually, y'know, have a band."

The pinkette grinned, before slamming his hand into Cliff's. "You and me, bro? We're gonna climb to the top!"

For the first time that day, Cliff had a confident smile. While he hadn't been able to keep up perfectly, Loch was a talented drummer. He did his best to adapt and move with the song. He obviously didn't have it memorised, but that was fine. They wouldn't need to know it to be able to perform.

"Yeah, man... we're gonna show Inkopolis how to really rock."


	10. When It All Goes South

It didn't take long for the other members of the band to join Cliff and Loch. By the end of the week, they had recruited the bassist Dorian and a vocalist named Victor. While they weren't quite ready yet to go on stage, Cliff had a good feeling about the band, and had started scouting out for openings for them to play. With how they were proceeding, it wouldn't be too long before their first real gig.

And of course, his other "job" was coming along nicely. He had dealt with most of the zapfish in another zone of Octo Valley, and even now was fighting the next Octoweapon, the Rampaging Octowhirl. While his enemy was much more challenging this time around, Cliff found out that he was pretty much a bigger version of an Octoball and could get stuck in his ink if he covered enough ground. Soon, the weapon was destroyed, and the arena was covered in his lime-green ink.

"Agent 3 reporting", Cliff said, sighing as he leaned against his hero brush. "Octowhirl has been destroyed. Retrieving zapfish now."

" _Hot dang, Agent 3! You're on fire!_ " the Captain crowed, happy for his agent. " _Only twelve more babies to go, and then we'll only have the Great Zapfish left!_ "

"And then Inkopolis is saved", Cliff said with a smile. "I gotta admit that I'll miss doing this... but at least we'll get it done quickly without any outside interference, right Cap'n?" When there wasn't a response, Cliff immediately stood up a bit straighter, ready to rush back. "Cap'n?"

" _... Eh? Sorry, Agent 3... I just got a bad feeling all of a sudden... it's probably nothin', but I think I'll just check somethin' out myself_."

"If you say so , Cap", Cliff said, deciding he better start releasing the zapfish from it's glowing cage. He lifted himself off of his propped up brush, slowly walking to the "lightbulb".

" _By the way, I've been meaning to introduce you to agents 1 and 2_ ", the elder inkling commented.

"Oh, you mean the two agents that have been so busy, they haven't been able to help me?" Cliff inquired, his eyes visibly rolling the minute the other agents were mentioned.

" _Don't be like that_ " Cuttlefish chided, and the red inkling could hear the frown on the old man's face. " _They have their own lives. They stop by to help me out when you're busy, too, Agent 3._ "

"... I guess I can't fault them for that", Cliff admitted.

" _Good. Fortunately, they should be able to visit either tomorrow or the day after. When we're all assembled, I'll treat you all to some crabby cakes!_ "

"Sounds like a blast", Cliff commented, though he wasn't all that excited. How could he be interested? These Agents supposedly helped the Cap'n whenever he was busy practicing with his band or fighting in Ranked Battles, but it still felt like he was doing all the work.

" _Cut...tle...fishhhhh..._ "

Cliff immediately stopped, his eyes growing huge. He had never heard this voice before, but it was laced with so much venom. He could practically feel the hatred rolling off of this mysterious speaker. And the worst thing?

It sounded like it came from wherever the Cap'n was.

" _No... YOU?! It can't be!_ "

Cliff brought a hand to his communicator, starting to panic. "Cap'n! Tell me your coordinates! I can meet up with-"

" _GYAHAHA! Time to face the music, old timer!_ "

" _W-w-w-w-wait!_ "

That was when a loud roar filled Cliff's headset and he winced at the sudden loud noise, but he refused to remove the communicator. He looked down at his tracking pad, desperately trying to find a way to switch to the Cap'n's communicator, but he ground his teeth together at the noises he heard. "Cap'n! What's going on?! Cap'n! Answer me!"

" _Stop! NOOOOOOoooooooo!_ " came the response, sounding like he was being yanked away from the mic.

"GRAMPS!" Cliff screamed back, not sure why he was, but... what else could he do? For a moment, the radio was silent in response. But soon, it crackled to life again.

" _Scratch... one... Cuttlefishhhhhhh..._ "

And with that, the radio died once more.

Cliff couldn't keep his balance. He fell flat onto his butt, processing what had happened. Was the Captain... gone? Like, for good? Who was that voice? What had he done?!

A loud clang garnered attention from the squid. He glanced around, grabbing his brush once more as he scrambled to his feet, slipping into a battle stance. He even scanned his hand-held tracker, trying to see if any enemies were coming. But there wasn't even a blip. Was he hearing things? A second bang told him that he definitely wasn't... but the clanging didn't stop. What sounded like huge pieces of metal falling and crashing echoed around him.

Then came the screams.

He couldn't pinpoint where they were coming from, but he heard them all the same; agonizing, desperate wails that destroyed all hope. Squalls of defeat and pain rang through his very soul. He felt his brush slip out of his hands, falling to his knees as he raised his hands to his ears, shuddering at every crash and screech.

Was it the denizens of this dome losing everything? Did the defeat of the Octowhirl stop the flow of electricity and cause the structure to start crumbling? Or was this his own guilt catching up to him, destroying him from the inside? From taking all the power from the Octarians... to letting Cuttlefish be attacked by the enemy?

The red inkling only shuddered and whimpered at the clanging and screaming, until finally, he couldn't bear it anymore. He threw his head back, placing his hands firmly on his ears as he bellowed alongside the sounds in the dome, his heart brimming with despair and rage.

XxXxXxX

Marina knocked gently on Cliff's apartment door. He had been busy with his new band practice and his job, so he hadn't been able to contact her in a while. She thought she'd surprise him by stopping by and making some food for him. Since they still spent time together every now and then, she felt they got closer, especially since he told her where his apartment was.

When there was no answer, though, she gave a sigh. He must be out with the band again, she decided, or out at his job. She would have to wait another day, and turned to leave, feeling her heart dive a bit further into her chest. She had worked up the courage to at least try, and it was rather discouraging that she picked a bad time.

But that was when she spotted a red head walking over, and knew right away it was him.

"Cliff!" she called out, smiling. She ran over to him, intending to tell him her plans, but soon stopped, the happiness falling off her face. His eyes weren't covered by his glasses, like usual, so she could easily see his silver irises. But more importantly, she could see the emptiness he was showing. He didn't even seem to register her presence, continuing to walk to his apartment. "Cliff?" she tentatively said, reaching over and catching his shoulder.

Finally, the inkling paused, registering his surroundings. He looked around, as if he had just realized he had gotten here without knowing how. He then looked to his shoulder, noticing that someone had a grip on him, and he turned to see the pinkette, worry etched clearly onto her visage. "... Marina?" he asked softly.

"Cliff... what happened?" his secret admirer inquired, bringing her other hand up to his cheek. She didn't know what was going on in his head, but she wanted to help, in any way that she could.

She didn't expect his eyes to well up with tears, but Cliff couldn't stop himself. He reached over, pulling her into a sudden embrace, sniffling as he held her. Had this been any other moment, Marina would've been ecstatic, but her worry only grew tenfold. Cliff wasn't an affectionate person; the most she had ever gotten out of him before was a handshake or just a one-armed embrace around her shoulders for only a couple seconds. So being victim to such an out-of-place gesture concerned her.

"I-I m-messed up", he told her. "Th-the Cap'n's gone... I c-couldn't save him..."

Marina forced him to pull back, looking him in the eye. "The Cap'n? Who is he? What are you talking about?" But the expression she saw told her he was way too emotional to think clearly, and she gave a sigh. "Let's go... open your apartment. We can talk in there... after you've gotten a chance to collect yourself."

With another sniffle and a silent nod, the pair headed inside, and Cliff took a seat at his small table next to the kitchen, where Marina brought her groceries. While he sat and collected himself, the pink inkling cooked, getting a simple dish of noodles and veggies together. When she looked in the fridge for something, she couldn't help but blanch a bit when her eyes found the pitcher of sea tea, but with a reluctant sigh, she pulled the concoction out, knowing that the red-head had quite the taste for it. They ate in relative silence, until Cliff finally felt he was able to speak without breaking down. And he told her all that had happened that day and the last couple of weeks.

"... so let me get this straight", Marina began, putting her fork down as she brought her hands together, working through everything she learned. "The day the Great Zapfish went missing... you were approached by this Captain Cuttlefish... and agreed to go on life-or-death missions to save not only the biggest fish, but also all of its babies."

"That's... the simplest way I could put it, yeah", Cliff confirmed.

"And you've fought three of these... these 'weapons'... that had more than enough power to destroy Inkopolis by themselves." Marina's eyes widened a bit as it all sank in. "That scar... that's how you got it! I knew I didn't see that before!"

Cliff winced a bit, before nodding. "Yeah... sorry I didn't tell you before", he said. "I wasn't sure you'd believe me anyway... and now that we know that they've gotten enough power to reactivate the Octo-weapons, the Cap'n asked me to keep quiet... didn't want the public panicking."

"But why just you?!" Marina asked. "And what about these other agents? Where have they been this entire time?!"

"They've supposedly been helping as much as they can, but Gramps told me that they don't have as much free time as they used to", he answered, albeit with an annoyed wrinkle on his brow. "And even if they did, they work as a pair. They'd only make as much progress as I did even if they put all their time into aiding the Cap'n."

Marina's cheeks puffed up, as her face started to turn red in fury. The boy could only stare in confusion and slight awe as he witnessed this, and she even pulled on her tentacles a bit in frustration. "That's just not right! It's not fair that you're the only active agent on that Splatoon! There's so many other soldiers that could help! What about the mayor? Why hasn't he done anything to stop the Octarians?!"

"Because they don't believe him", Cliff stated, remembering the words that Cuttlefish uttered the day they met. "No one in power believes that Octarians are making a move for our power supply after over a hundred years of peace. Sure, we've gotten requests from someone named..." His brow furrowed as he closed his eyes, trying to remember who the Cap'n had been talking about. "...General Bay to help us, but after seeing how quickly I can run through those domes, the Cap'n decided that covert tactics were probably best suited for these missions. If we send soldiers, it could spark another Great Turf War all over again, and no one wants that."

His words did do a bit to quell Marina's anger, if her softening gaze meant anything by that, but it was obvious she still didn't like it. "Well... it's still not fair. I'm gonna come with you next time and-"

"No!" Cliff immediately shot down. "Not happening!"

"Why not?" Marina argued, glaring a bit. "You know how well I can fight! I can bring my Hydra and give you some support!"

"Yeah, when you can actually keep up with me", Cliff countered. "That thing weighs you down, Marina, and I mean a lot. I need to be able to zip around my enemies without worry!"

"Then I'll bring just a heavy splatling! Speed problem solved!"

"And what happens when you get hurt?!" Cliff continued, standing up and taking steps away.

"And what about you getting hurt?" came her counter, as she stood up as well, her hands shaking as she curled her fingers into fists. "I-I want to make sure you're ok too, Cliff! It's not fair that I can't do anything to help you!"

"And what can you do?!" Cliff bellowed, his temper getting the better of him. Marina had never seen him this upset before, as she could see the tears threatening to fall again. "Are you trained to fight like an Octoling? Do you have proper military training? Are you willing to make life-or-death decisions at the drop of a hat?! Did you get the fact that the enemy won't show you ANY mercy drilled into your head?!"

In that moment, Marina couldn't handle it anymore, and yelled back at him, "YES! BEFORE I FLUNKED OUT, I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE POLICE ACADEMY!"

The following silence was almost maddening. For several minutes, neither one of them moved, not even to blink. They simply stared each other down, either too upset or too stunned to take any action. Eventually, Cliff cleared his throat, before deciding to speak again.

"You... you were gonna be a cop?" Cliff asked, surprised. "You never told me that."

"Well, you never asked", she responded, sitting down again. "I'm a year older than you, Cliff... a lot happened before I met you." She gave a sigh, pulling her pink tentacles over her eyes as she attempted to collect herself. "My dad... wanted me to be a cop, like him... or even a soldier in a splatoon of my own. So he pushed me to train and get stronger all the time... and for years, I followed him without question. With his funds, he helped me find my place in Inkopolis, and thanks to his recommendations and connections, I got into the academy no problem. But then..."

Cliff took a seat next to her, showing emotional support as she began shaking a bit. "... then I dropped out. I couldn't keep up; I made one mistake in my studies, and it spiraled out of my control. Before I knew it, I flunked out and never finished my training. I dropped all ties with my dad, my family... I just disappeared for a while. Because I couldn't stand the fact that his 'perfect' daughter... his precious, only child... had failed him."

The redhead listened carefully, and gave a sigh. "You strove for perfection at such a young age... and became afraid of failure in the process. I'm... guessing you never hit a wall like that before?" At her nod, he stopped talking, unsure of what to say. Failure, to him, was natural; it was how he learned how to fight, how to keep up his speed, how to play his guitar; without failure, he wouldn't be where he was now. But this poor girl had never felt its sting before, and she despised it, absolutely feared it.

One hand found its way to her shoulder, and without even thinking about it, she leaned closer to him, shaking a bit. Their dinner was completely forgotten now. They didn't need to say anything else that night; only their company was needed.

XxXxXxX

"Let me go, ya' octo-crooks!" Cuttlefish yelled, squirming in his bonds. He was being tied up onto one of the many saucers that littered the underground, a post being all that was needed as the ridiculously-long rope kept him wrapped up and bound. He couldn't see the octoling that was tying him up - only a shade of sea-green on her tentacle, but otherwise, he was left in the dark. "You'll be sorry for this!"

"I'm sure I will", came the sarcastic tone of Octavio, and the captain ceased his struggle when he saw the samurai helmet of the Octarian leader. "But until then, I think I'll savor this victory."

"Octavio", the old inkling said with a scowl. "I knew it... there's no way this would be a rogue octoling squad. You always hated that my splatoon gave you so much trouble."

"You mean keeps giving me so much trouble", Octavio said with a growl. "You and your hipster crowd have always stepped on us Octarians. Taking all the turf... leaving my people stuck in the underground."

"You mean you won't let your people share with us!" Cuttlefish shot back. "If you hadn't started those hostilities with us-"

"And have there been any attempts of diplomacy?!" Octavio roared. "Has there been advocates?! Ambassadors?! My people suffer in the darkness while you and your kind enjoy the sunlight without a care in the world! To your children, my people are nothing more than monsters from bedtime stories!"

"Because you don't want to share! You want complete control!" the old man countered once more. "If you're not in charge, you won't be happy! You'd push everyone under your tentacles, leaving them helpless and unable to fight back!"

Octavio growled, before looking back at the Octoling behind the older man. "Gag him. I don't need any more of his obnoxious squawking."

Despite his struggle and attempts to keep talking, Cuttlefish was eventually gagged, as Octavio looked behind him, towards another octoling. "So, Octammie... about our little side project."

The older octoling agent stood in a tight salute, showing the utmost loyalty to her leader. "Sir, I have received a report from the twins. They have located Octarla."

 _Octarla?_ the Cap'n thought, confused. _Who the heck are they talkin' about?_

"Good", Octavio said. "She will pay for betraying us... and I have no doubt that it was Octola who let her pass. You have not told her of your plan, have you?"

"Of course not", Octammie said. "We need her able to continue her duties. No need for her to suffer the loss of her child and her friend."

The Cap'n couldn't hear them as they walked away, but a feeling of dread washed over him.

XxXxXxX

Agent 1 and 2 both watched their junior agent's progress. The one with black tentacles, her eyes covered by sunglasses, turned to her white-haired counterpart. "Well... Agent 3 seems... a little..."

"A little dickish?" Agent 2 responded, rolling her golden eyes. "When we introduced ourselves, he's barely said anything, and he seems to scowl every time we say anything."

"Well, he does look kinda pissed..." Agent 1 mused, tapping her chin. "Ya think he's mad that we weren't here to help the Cap'n?"

"I don't see why he would", Agent 2 responded. "We've been helping whenever we could..."

"Well, it wasn't enough", Cliff said, walking up. The red-tentacled inkling stared them both down with a scowl, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. "If you two had been here, the Cap'n wouldn't have needed to fire up an SOS."

"Well, excuuuse us", Agent 2 stated. "We have our own lives, too. And this isn't our first time dealing with Octarians."

"Well, unless I see some action from you, I'm not gonna believe you", the boy said, hanging up the hero brush. "As far as I can see, I'm the only agent that actually does any work around here."

"Now that's just wrong!" Agent 1 argued, standing up from her seat. "We've been working our hardest to make sure those mapping projects work for your tablet! And after Gr-" She paused, catching what she was saying. "After the Cap'n got squidnapped, we've been not only helping you, but we've been looking wherever we can, seeing if we can figure out where he's been taken!"

"He shouldn't have been squidnapped in the first place!" Cliff snapped, his hand curling into a fist. "Someone should have been there to help him!"

"We could say the same about you!" Agent 2 shot back, glaring at him with her fierce golden eyes. "We had our real-life jobs to do! What about you, huh? Why weren't you fast enough to help him?!"

"You think I haven't already been beating myself up over that?!" Cliff responded, glaring as he ripped off the inktank on his back, looking back up as they grey-haired girl paused, not expecting that answer. "If I had been faster- if I hadn't stopped to chat instead of just making my way back, I could have had a chance to save him! I could have stopped the big bad that got him! But NO! I had to mess things up, and now I'm getting my screw ups thrown back at me by the Squid Sisters!"

The camp was silent and tense, both Agent 1 and Agent 2 - Callie and Marie stared in shock. How had he figured them out so quickly? Before either of them could ask, though, a new sound began playing; the distinct tones of the Calamari Inkantation, the song that made them stars to begin with. But it wasn't their version; it sounded like an electric guitar was playing the song itself. That was when Cliff pulled his phone out of his pocket, revealing the source of the song. "Uncle Cecil?" the young agent said, surprised. "What's going on? Why did you-"

The red boy suddenly stopped speaking, interrupted by what sounded like a frantic voice. His silver eyes widened behind his sunglasses, and he immediately had a look of horror on his face. "I'll be on the next train home. Tell Aunt Lydia I'm on my way." Once that conversation was over, Cliff put his phone back in his pocket. "I gotta go", he said suddenly.

"Wait what?" Callie asked, surprised.

"Where're you going with that Agent uniform?" Marie said, noticing that Cliff was only grabbing his stuff instead of changing. "That belongs here!"

"I don't have time to change", Cliff said in a rushed tone. "I have to go, like, now!"

"Where are you going?!" Callie asked, frustrated. "You have to help us save the Zapfish!"

"Tentaton Hospital!" Cliff snapped, his sunglasses drooping down his nose as he stared both idols down, daring them to challenge him. "My mom's been admitted to the hospital!"


End file.
